Deuteronomy 30:19

19 I invoke as a witness against you {today} the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set {before you}, blessing and curse. So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring,

Deuteronomy 30:19 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 30:19

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you
Either, literally understood, the heavens above him, and the earth on which he stood, those inanimate bodies, which are frequently called upon as witnesses to matters of moment and importance; see ( Deuteronomy 4:26 ) ( 32:1 ) ( Isaiah 1:2 ) ; or figuratively, the inhabitants of both, angels and men:

[that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
had plainly told them in express words what would be the consequence of obedience and disobedience to the law of God; long life, and the blessings of it in the land of Canaan, to those that obey it; death, by various means, and dreadful curses, to those that disobey it; of which see at large ( Deuteronomy 28:16-68 ) ;

therefore choose life, that thou and thy seed may live;
that is, prefer obedience to the law, and choose to perform that, the consequence of which is life; that they and their posterity might live comfortably and happily, quietly and safely, and constantly, even to the latest ages, in the land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 30:19 In-Context

17 However, if your heart turns aside and you [do] not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them,

18 I declare to you {today} that you will certainly perish; {you will not extend your time} on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to go there to take possession of it.

19 I invoke as a witness against you {today} the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set {before you}, blessing and curse. So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring,

20 by loving Yahweh your God by listening to his voice and by clinging to him, for he [is] your life and the length of your days [in order for you] to live on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "the day"
• [b]. Literally "to the face of you"
• [c]. Or "seed"