For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
Parallel translations
- WEB For I lift up my hand to heaven and declare, as I live forever,
- BSB For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,
- NKJV For I raise My hand to heaven, And say, “As I live forever,
- NASB ‘Indeed, I raise My hand to heaven, And say, as I live forever,
- NLT Now I raise my hand to heaven and declare, “As surely as I live,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God lifts His hand to heaven and swears by His own eternal life. It matters because it underscores the absolute certainty of His word and judgment.
Overview
Raising the hand was a gesture of solemn oath, and God swears by Himself, the highest possible guarantee. His eternal existence secures the reliability of all He declares. This divine oath assures both judgment on enemies and faithfulness to His people, an assurance ultimately confirmed in the unbreakable promises fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 4:2And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
- Heb 6:17–18Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
- Rev 10:5–6And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
- Gen 14:22And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
- Num 14:28–30Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
- Exod 6:8And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 32:40 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.