Kejadian 31:50

31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ¹  that God is witness to your actions.” ² 

Ulangan 4:26

4:26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you ³  today that you will surely and swiftly be removed ⁴  from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be ⁵  annihilated.

Yesaya 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ⁶ 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ⁷  I brought them up, ⁸ 

but ⁹  they have rebelled ¹⁰  against me!

[31:50]  ¹ tn Heb “see.”

[31:50]  ² tn Heb “between me and you.”

[4:26]  ³ sn I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you. This stock formula introduces what is known form-critically as a רִיב (riv) or controversy pattern. It is commonly used in the ancient Near Eastern world in legal contexts and in the OT as a forensic or judicial device to draw attention to Israel’s violation of the Lord’s covenant with them (see Deut 30:19; Isa 1:2; 3:13; Jer 2:9). Since court proceedings required the testimony of witnesses, the Lord here summons heaven and earth (that is, all creation) to testify to his faithfulness, Israel’s disobedience, and the threat of judgment.

[4:26]  ⁴ tn Or “be destroyed”; KJV “utterly perish”; NLT “will quickly disappear”; CEV “you won’t have long to live.”

[4:26]  ⁵ tn Or “be completely” (so NCV, TEV). It is not certain here if the infinitive absolute indicates the certainty of the following action (cf. NIV) or its degree.

[1:2]  ⁶ sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  sn “Father” and “son” occur as common terms in ancient Near Eastern treaties and covenants, delineating the suzerain and vassal as participants in the covenant relationship. The prophet uses these terms, the reference to heavens and earth as witnesses, and allusions to deuteronomic covenant curses (1:7-9, 19-20) to set his prophecy firmly against the backdrop of Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh.

[1:2]  ⁸ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ⁹ sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ¹⁰ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).