to rebuke
ya.khach denotes confronting wrongdoing or a claim, whether by correction, discipline, or deciding a dispute.
The prevailing use concerns direct correction or discipline directed toward a person, people, or ruler. In a smaller set of legal or disputational contexts, it concerns presenting or deciding a case; a few verses describe the establishment or identification of what is appointed or shown.
Senses in use
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Correcting, censuring, or disciplining · dominant
Hiphil forms regularly occur where someone is confronted for conduct: in Leviticus 19:17 the APB renders the command to address a neighbor as “surely rebuke,” while Proverbs 9:8 contrasts correcting a mocker with correcting a wise man. The same use includes divine or consequential discipline in Job 5:17 and Jeremiah 2:19, and rebuke directed against rulers in 1 Chronicles 16:21.
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Contesting or deciding a case · common
Several forms occur in settings of competing claims and judgment. In Genesis 31:37 the jussive calls for those present to decide between the two parties, and Job 16:21 describes pleading for a man with God or with a neighbor. Isaiah 2:4 places the action between nations before the verse’s outcome of peace.
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Confirming or designating in a requested sign · rare
In Genesis 24:14, the second-person perfect occurs in the servant’s requested sign concerning the woman for Isaac, and the APB renders the clause “you have shown kindness to my master.” Genesis 24:44 repeats the sign and identifies the woman whom the LORD has appointed; the precise English contribution of the Hebrew form is not isolated by the translation.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB most often uses “rebuke,” including personal correction, divine discipline, and rebuke of kings. In dispute settings it instead uses expressions such as “argue,” “plead,” “decide,” and “refuted”; These render the clauses rather than fixing a separate English equivalent for every form.