Deuteronomy 30:18

 Deuteronomy 30:18

I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

a. NASB 1995: I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.  [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. YLT: I have declared to you this day, that ye do certainly perish, ye do not prolong days on the ground which thou art passing over the Jordan to go in thither to possess it.  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: I declare to you today that you shall surely perish, and you shall not live long in the land which you pass over the Jordan to enter and possess.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: i tell you today that you will surely be lost; you will not lengthen your days upon the Land that you cross the jordan to come here, to possess it.  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

e. ESV: I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. “I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.”

a. [I] denounce [Strong: 5046 nâgad, naw-gad'; a primitive root; properly, to front, i.e. stand boldly out opposite; by implication (causatively), to manifest; figuratively, to announce (always by word of mouth to one present); specifically, to expose, predict, explain, praise:—bewray, × certainly, certify, declare(-ing), denounce, expound, × fully, messenger, plainly, profess, rehearse, report, shew (forth), speak, × surely, tell, utter.]

b. [unto you this] day [Strong: 3117 yôwm, yome; from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):—age, always, chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), elder, × end, evening, (for) ever(-lasting, -more), × full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, × required, season, × since, space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), × whole ( age), (full) year(-ly), younger.]

c. that [Strong: 3588 kîy, kee; a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed:—and, (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-) as, assured(-ly), but, certainly, doubtless, else, even, except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, (al-) though, till, truly, until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.]

d. [ye shall] surely [Strong: 6 ʼâbad, aw-bad'; a primitive root; properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy):—break, destroy(-uction), not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, × and surely, take, be undone, × utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.]

e. perish [Strong: 6 ʼâbad, aw-bad'; a primitive root; properly, to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy):—break, destroy(-uction), not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, × and surely, take, be undone, × utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.]

f. [and that ye shall] not [Strong: 3808 lôʼ, lo; or לוֹא lôwʼ; or לֹה lôh; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle; + not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles:—× before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

g. prolong [Strong: 748 ʼârak, aw-rak'; a primitive root; to be (causative, make) long (literally or figuratively):—defer, draw out, lengthen, (be, become, make, pro-) long, (out-, over-) live, tarry (long).]

h. [your] days [Strong: 3117 yôwm, yome; from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):—age, always, chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), elder, × end, evening, (for) ever(-lasting, -more), × full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, × required, season, × since, space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), × whole ( age), (full) year(-ly), younger.]

1). Though the exact phrase is “lengthen our days upon the Land”, the critical thought is that it is their choice. And regarding life itself it is our choice also.The first promise in Scripture promising longer life was concerning honoring our parents.

a); Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

b). Deuteronomy 5:16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

2). There are more than a few passages in the Scripture that promises longer life if we will walk in the fear of the LORD. Let me say that it is possible that we have a set number of days on this earth in conjunction with the plan that God has for our life, and when that plan is fulfilled we go on to be with the Lord.  It is also clear from Scripture that we can lengthen or shorten our days on this earth by our obedience or disobedience to the word of God, and I believe that most of us probably shorten our lives.  Here are a few examples of how we can lengthen or conversely shorten our lives by obedience or disobedience.

 

a). Proverbs 9:10, 11 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

9:11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

 

b). Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

c). Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short

d). 1 Corinthians 11:29-32 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

e). Act 5:1-10 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

3). World Outreach Church Daily Devotional 11/6/11: Someone might say, “What is our full length of time on this earth?” Perhaps it’s one age for one person and another age for another person. If God were making the appointment, we’d know that from the Bible. But look at what Ephesians 6:1-3 says: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. In other words, the Bible tells children, “There’s something you can do that will cause you to have a long life.” The book of Proverbs also talks about increasing the length of our lives: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. Proverbs 9:10,11 The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Proverbs 10:27 There are many other Scriptures that say, “If you do this, you’ll live long on the earth,” or “If you do that, you’ll cut your life short on this earth.” But the Bible doesn’t say, “There’s an appointed time, and when your time comes, you’re going.” No, God tells us how to prolong our lives.

i. upon [Strong: 5921 ʻal, al; properly, the same as H5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications:—above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, × as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, × both and, by (reason of), × had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-) on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, × with.]

j. [the] land [Strong: 127 ʼădâmâh, ad-aw-maw'; from H119; soil (from its general redness):—country, earth, ground, husband(-man) (-ry), land.]

k. whither [Strong: 834 ʼăsher, ash-er'; a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:—× after, × alike, as (soon as), because, × every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), × if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), × though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(-soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

l. thou [Strong: 859 ʼattâh, at-taw'; or (shortened); אַתָּ ʼattâ at-taw'; or אַת° ʼath, ath; feminine (irregular) sometimes אַתִּי ʼattîy, at-tee'; plural masculine אַתֶּם ʼattem, at-tem'; feminine אַתֶּן ʼatten, at-ten'; or אַתֵּנָה ʼattênâh, at-tay'-naw; or אַתֵּנָּה ʼattênnâh, at-tane'-naw; a primitive pronoun of the second person; thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you:—thee, thou, ye, you.]

m. [passest over [Strong: 5674 ʻâbar, aw-bar'; a primitive root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation):—alienate, alter, × at all, beyond, bring (over, through), carry over, (over-) come (on, over), conduct (over), convey over, current, deliver, do away, enter, escape, fail, gender, get over, (make) go (away, beyond, by, forth, his way, in, on, over, through), have away (more), lay, meddle, overrun, make partition, (cause to, give, make to, over) pass(-age, along, away, beyond, by, -enger, on, out, over, through), (cause to, make) proclaim(-amation), perish, provoke to anger, put away, rage, raiser of taxes, remove, send over, set apart, shave, cause to (make) sound, × speedily, × sweet smelling, take (away), (make to) transgress(-or), translate, turn away, (way-) faring man, be wrath.]

n. Jordan [Strong: 3383 Yardên, yar-dane'; from H3381; a descender; Jarden, the principal river of Palestine:—Jordan.]

o. [to] go [Strong: 935 bôwʼ, bo; a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):—abide, apply, attain, × be, befall, besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, × certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, × doubtless again, eat, employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, have, × indeed, (in-) vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, × (well) stricken (in age), × surely, take (in), way.]

p. [to] possess [it] [Strong: 3423 yârash, yaw-rash'; or יָרֵשׁ yârêsh; a primitive root; to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin:—cast out, consume, destroy, disinherit, dispossess, drive(-ing) out, enjoy, expel, × without fail, (give to, leave for) inherit(-ance, -or) magistrate, be (make) poor, come to poverty, (give to, make to) possess, get (have) in (take) possession, seize upon, succeed, × utterly.]