The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant, establishing that the judgment's cause is human covenant-breaking, the violation of the laws and statutes that constitute the terms of humanity's relationship with God. The pollution of earth by its inhabitants suggests that human sin has cosmic consequences, that rebellion against God affects the created order itself. The specific mention of breaking the everlasting covenant identifies the transgression as one directed against God's fundamental covenant with humanity, not merely against particular laws or regulations. This verse establishes the theological causality underlying the apocalyptic judgment: judgment flows from covenant-breaking and is proportional to the seriousness of the violation. The everlasting covenant suggests either the Noahic covenant (with all humanity) or a universal articulation of God's covenant with creation.

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