הֵ֚ן לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּשְׁמֵ֣י הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּֽהּ׃
Siehe, dem HERRN, deinem Gott, gehört der Himmel und der Himmel, die Erde, mit allem, was darin ist.
Rashi on Deuteronomy
הן לה׳ אלהיך BEHOLD, UNTO THE LORD THY GOD BELONGS the whole Universe (“the heavens … and the earth and all that therein is”), and yet רק באבתיך חשק ה׳ ONLY IN THY FATHERS DID THE LORD TAKE PLEASURE.
Kli Yakar on Deuteronomy
Only your forefathers. The word “only” is to exclude the heavens and the heavenly heavens. Out of all of those, Hashem only desired your forefathers. This is in accordance with the opinion of the kabbalists, who said that the righteous are greater than the acts of heaven and earth. All agree that everything else was only created for the sake of mankind.
Sforno on Deuteronomy
הן לה' אלוקיך השמים...והארץ, the fact that He owns the entire universe is convincing proof that whatever He asks of you is only for your own good, not for His, seeing that He has everything. The phenomena in the heavens and on earth are indestructible, permanent, and if you observed that at times they performed out of character to their nature, this was only because I, G’d, made them perform so in your interest. However, G’d was fond of your forefathers