Deuteronomy 31:28 (DBY)

Passage

Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and take heaven and earth to witness against them.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee;

Deuteronomy 31:27 for I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck. Lo, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against Jehovah; and how much more after my death!

Deuteronomy 31:28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and take heaven and earth to witness against them.

Deuteronomy 31:29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and will turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and mischief will befall you at the end of days; because ye do evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

Deuteronomy 31:30 And Moses spoke in the ears of the whole congregation of Israel the words of this song, until their conclusion.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gather", "elders", "tribes", "officers", "speak", "words", "ears", and "take". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gather" and "elders", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "for I know thy rebellion and thy..." into verse 29's "For I know that after my death...", so "gather" and "elders" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "gather" and "elders" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.