English: “For I lift up My hand to heaven” — like a person who takes an oath and raises his hand. “And say: As I live forever” — an oath by the life of the Holy One, blessed be He. This teaches that the Holy One swears by His own life that He will exact payment from the nations.
The anthropomorphic gesture of raising the hand is read as the classic form of an oath, here taken by God Himself concerning future retribution.
Type of Learning
Custom (anthropomorphic oath formula applied to divine speech).
What Is Learned
See the Core Text and context note for the specific point derived from the verse.