Genesis 4:10

4:10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? ¹  The voice ²  of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!

Genesis 19:13

19:13 because we are about to destroy ³  it. The outcry against this place ⁴  is so great before the Lord that he ⁵  has sent us to destroy it.”

Isaiah 3:9

3:9 The look on their faces ⁶  testifies to their guilt; ⁷ 

like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. ⁸ 

Too bad for them! ⁹ 

For they bring disaster on themselves.

Isaiah 5:7

5:7 Indeed ¹⁰  Israel ¹¹  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ¹²  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ¹³ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ¹⁴ 

Jeremiah 14:7

14:7 Then I said, ¹⁵ 

“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name ¹⁶ 

even though our sins speak out against us. ¹⁷ 

Indeed, ¹⁸  we have turned away from you many times.

We have sinned against you.

James 5:4

5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

¹ sn What have you done? Again the Lord’s question is rhetorical (see Gen 3:13), condemning Cain for his sin.

² tn The word “voice” is a personification; the evidence of Abel’s shed blood condemns Cain, just as a human eyewitness would testify in court. For helpful insights, see G. von Rad, Biblical Interpretations in Preaching; and L. Morris, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 6 (1955/56): 77-82.

³ tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.

⁴ tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.

⁶ sn This refers to their proud, arrogant demeanor.

⁷ tn Heb “answers against them”; NRSV “bears witness against them.”

⁸ tn Heb “their sin, like Sodom, they declare, they do not conceal [it].”

⁹ tn Heb “woe to their soul.”

¹⁰ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

¹¹ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

¹² tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

¹³ tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

¹⁴ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

¹⁵ tn The words “Then I said” are not in the text. However, it cannot be a continuation of the Lord’s speech and the people have consistently refused to acknowledge their sin. The fact that the prayer here and in vv. 19-22 are followed by an address from God to Jeremiah regarding prayer (cf. 4:11 and the interchanges there between God and Jeremiah and 15:1) also argues that the speaker is Jeremiah. He is again identifying with his people (cf. 8:18-9:2). Here he takes up the petition part of the lament which often contains elements of confession of sin and statements of trust. In 14:1-6 God portrays to Jeremiah the people’s lamentable plight instead of their describing it to him. Here Jeremiah prays what they should pray. The people are strangely silent throughout.

¹⁶ tn Heb “Act for the sake of your name.” The usage of “act” in this absolute, unqualified sense cf. BDB 794 s.v. עָוֹשָׂה Qal.I.r and compare the usage, e.g., in 1 Kgs 8:32 and 39. For the nuance of “for the sake of your name” compare the usage in Isa 48:9 and Ezek 20:9, 14.

¹⁷ tn Or “bear witness against us,” or “can be used as evidence against us,” to keep the legal metaphor. Heb “testify against.”

¹⁸ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can scarcely be causal here; it is either intensive (BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e) or concessive (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c). The parallel usage in Gen 18:20 argues for the intensive force as does the fact that the concessive has already been expressed by אִם (’im).