Is it "as God is my witness,“ or "as God as my witness"? [closed]

I have seen both "as God is my witness", which makes sense but sort of puts God in a supportive role, and "as God as my witness", which sounds wrong to me but I don't know, might be an olde tyme phrasing that is only used in that phrase.

Solution 1:

"As God is..." or "with God as...", but not "as God as...".

"As God is my witness" is a complete clause; without the "as" it would be a complete sentence, and the "as" serves to connect it to what follows.

"With God as..." is a complete dependent clause; the preposition "with" introduces a condition. ("God as my witness" is not a complete sentence.)

"As God as my witness" does not make sense; "as" doesn't serve the role that "with" does in the second option, and "as" doesn't serve the verbal role that "is" does in the first. It is likely an error.

Solution 2:

The phrase is "As God is my witness ..." I've never heard the other. Here's an emphatic example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixx66T-FPYM

edit

Now that you've posted a link in chat to where you saw the "as" version, I have to tell you that the YouTube title is simply a typo or a mistake. And the actor is clearly saying "As God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly."

edit 2

The funny thing is, that Gone With the Wind link also is titled "As God as my witness" but Vivien Leigh clearly says "As God is my witness" — several times. YouTube is the Niagara Falls of poor English.

Solution 3:

I'd be inclined to suggest "with God as my witness", slurred a little.