Genesis 4:10

4:10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? ¹  The voice ²  of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!

Joshua 24:27

24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. ³  It will be a witness against you if ⁴  you deny your God.”

Job 31:38-40

Job’s Final Solemn Oath ⁵ 

31:38 “If my land cried out against me ⁶ 

and all its furrows wept together,

31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, ⁷ 

or caused the death ⁸  of its owners, ⁹ 

31:40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat,

and in place of barley, weeds!” ¹⁰ 

The words of Job are ended.

Luke 19:40

19:40 He answered, ¹¹  “I tell you, if they ¹²  keep silent, the very stones ¹³  will cry out!”

Hebrews 12:24

12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator ¹⁴  of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. ¹⁵ 

James 5:3-4

5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ¹⁶  5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Revelation 6:10

6:10 They ¹⁷  cried out with a loud voice, ¹⁸  “How long, ¹⁹  Sovereign Master, ²⁰  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”

[4:10]  ¹ sn What have you done? Again the Lord’s question is rhetorical (see Gen 3:13), condemning Cain for his sin.

[4:10]  ² tn The word “voice” is a personification; the evidence of Abel’s shed blood condemns Cain, just as a human eyewitness would testify in court. For helpful insights, see G. von Rad, Biblical Interpretations in Preaching; and L. Morris, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 6 (1955/56): 77-82.

[24:27]  ³ tn Heb “all the words of the Lord which he spoke with us.”

[24:27]  ⁴ tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”

[31:38]  ⁵ sn Many commentators place vv. 38-40b at the end of v. 34, so that there is no return to these conditional clauses after his final appeal.

[31:38]  ⁶ sn Some commentators have suggested that the meaning behind this is that Job might not have kept the year of release (Deut 15:1), and the law against mixing seed (Lev 19:19). But the context will make clear that the case considered is obtaining the land without paying for it and causing the death of its lawful owner (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 206). Similar to this would be the case of Naboth’s vineyard.

[31:39]  ⁷ tn Heb “without silver.”

[31:39]  ⁸ tc The versions have the verb “grieved” here. The Hebrew verb means “to breathe,” but the form is Hiphil. This verb in that stem could mean something of a contemptuous gesture, like “sniff” in Mal 1:13. But with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in Job 11:20 it means “to cause death,” i.e., “to cause to breathe out; to expire.” This is likely the meaning here, although it is possible that it only meant “to cause suffering” to the people.

[31:39]  ⁹ tn There is some debate over the meaning of בְּעָלֶיהָ (bÿ’aleyha), usually translated “its owners.” Dahood, following others (although without their emendations), thought it referred to “laborers” (see M. Dahood, Bib 41 [1960]: 303; idem, Bib 43 [1962]: 362).

[31:40]  ¹⁰ tn The word בָּאְשָׁה (bo’shah, from בָּאַשׁ [ba’as, “to have a foul smell”]) must refer to foul smelling weeds.

[19:40]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “He answered.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:40]  ¹² tn Grk “these.”

[19:40]  ¹³ sn This statement amounts to a rebuke. The idiom of creation speaking means that even creation knows what is taking place, yet the Pharisees miss it. On this idiom, see Gen 4:10 and Hab 2:11.

[12:24]  ¹⁴ tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.

[12:24]  ¹⁵ sn Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11-14; 11:4).

[5:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”

[6:10]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[6:10]  ¹⁹ tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.

[6:10]  ²⁰ tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).