Jeremiah 6:19

6:19 Hear this, you peoples of the earth: ¹ 

‘Take note! ²  I am about to bring disaster on these people.

It will come as punishment for their scheming. ³ 

For they have paid no attention to what I have said, ⁴ 

and they have rejected my law.

Jeremiah 22:29

22:29 O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah! ⁵ 

Listen to what the Lord has to say!

Deuteronomy 32:1

Invocation of Witnesses

32:1 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;

hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Isaiah 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!

Micah 6:2

6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,

you enduring foundations of the earth!

For the Lord has a case against his people;

he has a dispute with Israel! ¹¹ 

Matthew 27:45

Jesus’ Death

27:45 Now from noon until three, ¹²  darkness came over all the land. ¹³ 

Matthew 27:50-53

27:50 Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. 27:51 Just then ¹⁴  the temple curtain ¹⁵  was torn in two, from top to bottom. The ¹⁶  earth shook and the rocks were split apart. 27:52 And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died ¹⁷  were raised. 27:53 (They ¹⁸  came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.)

[6:19]  ¹ tn Heb “earth.”

[6:19]  ² tn Heb “Behold!”

[6:19]  ³ tn Heb “disaster on these people, the fruit of their schemes.”

[6:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “my word.”

[22:29]  ⁵ tn There is no certain explanation for the triple repetition of the word “land” here. F. B. Huey (Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 209) suggests the idea of exasperation, but exasperation at what? Their continued apostasy which made these exiles necessary? Or exasperation at their pitiful hopes of seeing Jeconiah restored? Perhaps “pitiful, pitiful, pitiful land of Judah” would convey some of the force of the repetition without being any more suggestive of why the land is so addressed.

[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]  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).

[6:2]  ¹¹ tn This verse briefly interrupts the Lord’s statement (see vv. 1, 3) as the prophet summons the mountains as witnesses. Because of this v. 2 has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[27:45]  ¹² tn Grk “from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.”

[27:45]  ¹³ sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.

[27:51]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And behold.”

[27:51]  ¹⁵ tn The referent of this term, καταπέτασμα (katapetasma), is not entirely clear. It could refer to the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.5 [5.219]), or it could refer to one at the entrance of the temple court (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.4 [5.212]). Many argue that the inner curtain is meant because another term, κάλυμμα (kalumma), is also used for the outer curtain. Others see a reference to the outer curtain as more likely because of the public nature of this sign. Either way, the symbolism means that access to God has been opened up. It also pictures a judgment that includes the sacrifices.

[27:51]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:52]  ¹⁷ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[27:53]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.