2 Kings 13:4

13:4 Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy and the Lord responded favorably, for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria.

Exodus 3:7

3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

Exodus 3:9

3:9 And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.

Jude 1:16

1:16 These people are grumblers and fault-finders who go 10  wherever their desires lead them, 11  and they give bombastic speeches, 12  enchanting folks 13  for their own gain. 14 

Psalms 106:43-45

106:43 Many times he delivered 15  them,

but they had a rebellious attitude, 16 

and degraded themselves 17  by their sin.

106:44 Yet he took notice of their distress,

when he heard their cry for help.

106:45 He remembered his covenant with them,

and relented 18  because of his great loyal love.

Isaiah 63:9

63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 19 

The messenger sent from his very presence 20  delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected 21  them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 22 


tn Heb “appeased the face of the Lord.”

tn Heb “and the Lord heard.”

tn Heb “for he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Syria oppressed them.”

tn The use of the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense intensifies the statement: I have surely seen – there is no doubt that I have seen and will do something about it.

sn Two new words are introduced now to the report of suffering: “affliction” and “pain/suffering.” These add to the dimension of the oppression of God’s people.

tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses attention on what is being said as grounds for what follows.

tn The word is a technical term for the outcry one might make to a judge. God had seen the oppression and so knew that the complaints were accurate, and so he initiated the proceedings against the oppressors (B. Jacob, Exodus, 59).

tn Heb “seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” The word for the oppression is now לַחַץ (lakhats), which has the idea of pressure with the oppression – squeezing, pressuring – which led to its later use in the Semitic languages for torture. The repetition in the Hebrew text of the root in the participle form after this noun serves to stress the idea. This emphasis has been represented in the translation by the expression “seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.”

tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

10 tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

11 tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

12 tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

13 sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

14 tn Or “to their own advantage.”

15 tn The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“he would deliver”).

16 tn Heb “but they rebelled in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“they would have a rebellious attitude”).

17 tn Heb “they sank down.” The Hebrew verb מָכַךְ (makhakh, “to lower; to sink”) occurs only here in the Qal.

18 tn The Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) refers here to God relenting from a punishment already underway.

19 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).

20 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”

21 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”

22 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”