Devarim 31:28

28 Gather unto me kol ziknei shvatim of you, and your shoterim, that I may speak these devarim in their hearing, and call Shomayim and Ha’Aretz to record as witnesses against them.

Devarim 31:28 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 31:28

Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your
officers
The heads of the tribes, the princes, and all other inferior magistrates:

that I may speak these words in their ears;
not the words of the law, but of the song which he was ordered to write, and is recorded in the following chapter:

and call heaven and earth to record against them;
to bear witness of what he delivered to them, and to bear witness against them should they transgress the laws he gave them; and to bear witness that they had been faithfully cautioned against transgressing, and had been severely threatened, and the punishment plainly pointed out that should be inflicted on them in case of disobedience, so that they were left entirely without excuse.

Devarim 31:28 In-Context

26 Take this sefer haTorah, and put it at the side of the Aron Brit Hashem Eloheichem, that it may be there for an ed (witness) against thee.
27 For I know thy meri (rebellion), and thy oref hakasheh (stiff neck); behold, while I am yet alive with you today, ye have been mamrim (rebellious) against Hashem; and how much more after my death!
28 Gather unto me kol ziknei shvatim of you, and your shoterim, that I may speak these devarim in their hearing, and call Shomayim and Ha’Aretz to record as witnesses against them.
29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from HaDerech which I have commanded you; and hara’ah will befall you in the acharim hayamim; because ye will do rah (evil) in the sight of Hashem, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.
30 And Moshe spoke in the ears of kol Kahal Yisroel the divrei hashirah hazot (words of this song), until they were ended.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.