Exodus 11:6

11:6 There will be a great cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as there has never been, ¹  nor ever will be again. ² 

Proverbs 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears ³  to the cry ⁴  of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered. ⁵ 

Amos 5:17

5:17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing,

for I will pass through ⁶  your midst,” says the Lord.

Matthew 25:6

25:6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ 

James 2:13

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over ⁸  judgment.

¹ tn Heb “which like it there has never been.”

² tn Heb “and like it it will not add.”

³ sn The imagery means “pay no attention to” the cry for help or “refuse to help,” so it is a metonymy of cause for the effect.

⁴ sn “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.

⁵ sn The proverb is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy. It involves the principle of talionic justice – those who refuse the needs of others will themselves be refused when they need help (so Luke 16:19-31).

⁶ sn The expression pass through your midst alludes to Exod 12:12, where the Lord announced he would “pass through” Egypt and bring death to the Egyptian firstborn.

⁷ tc ‡ Most witnesses have αὐτοῦ (autou, “[with] him”) after ἀπάντησιν (apanthsin, “meeting”), a reading which makes explicit what is already implied in the shorter text (as found in א B 700). The translation likewise adds “him” for clarity’s sake even though the word is not considered part of the original text. NA²⁷ has αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

⁸ tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.