Exodus 3:7

3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen ¹  the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ² 

Exodus 22:25-27

22:25 “If you lend money to any of ³  my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender ⁴  to him; do not charge ⁵  him interest. ⁶  22:26 If you do take ⁷  the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, ⁸  22:27 for it is his only covering – it is his garment for his body. ⁹  What else can he sleep in? ¹⁰  And ¹¹  when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

Job 31:38-39

Job’s Final Solemn Oath ¹² 

31:38 “If my land cried out against me ¹³ 

and all its furrows wept together,

31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, ¹⁴ 

or caused the death ¹⁵  of its owners, ¹⁶ 

Job 34:28

34:28 so that they caused ¹⁷  the cry of the poor

to come before him,

so that he hears ¹⁸  the cry of the needy.

Isaiah 5:7

5:7 Indeed ¹⁹  Israel ²⁰  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ²¹  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ²² 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ²³ 

Luke 18:7

18:7 Won’t ²⁴  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ²⁵  to him day and night? ²⁶  Will he delay ²⁷  long to help them?

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.

[3:7]  ¹ 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.

[3:7]  ² 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.

[22:25]  ³ tn “any of” has been supplied.

[22:25]  ⁴ sn The moneylender will be demanding and exacting. In Ps 109:11 and 2 Kgs 4:1 the word is rendered as “extortioner.”

[22:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “set.”

[22:25]  ⁶ sn In ancient times money was lent primarily for poverty and not for commercial ventures (H. Gamoran, “The Biblical Law against Loans on Interest,” JNES 30 [1971]: 127-34). The lending to the poor was essentially a charity, and so not to be an opportunity to make money from another person’s misfortune. The word נֶשֶׁךְ (neshekh) may be derived from a verb that means “to bite,” and so the idea of usury or interest was that of putting out one’s money with a bite in it (See S. Stein, “The Laws on Interest in the Old Testament,” JTS 4 [1953]: 161-70; and E. Neufeld, “The Prohibition against Loans at Interest in the Old Testament,” HUCA 26 [1955]: 355-412).

[22:26]  ⁷ tn The construction again uses the infinitive absolute with the verb in the conditional clause to stress the condition.

[22:26]  ⁸ tn The clause uses the preposition, the infinitive construct, and the noun that is the subjective genitive – “at the going in of the sun.”

[22:27]  ⁹ tn Heb “his skin.”

[22:27]  ¹⁰ tn Literally the text reads, “In what can he lie down?” The cloak would be used for a covering at night to use when sleeping. The garment, then, was the property that could not be taken and not given back – it was the last possession. The modern idiom of “the shirt off his back” gets at the point being made here.

[22:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and it will be.”

[31:38]  ¹² sn Many commentators place vv. 38-40b at the end of v. 34, so that there is no return to these conditional clauses after his final appeal.

[31:38]  ¹³ sn Some commentators have suggested that the meaning behind this is that Job might not have kept the year of release (Deut 15:1), and the law against mixing seed (Lev 19:19). But the context will make clear that the case considered is obtaining the land without paying for it and causing the death of its lawful owner (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 206). Similar to this would be the case of Naboth’s vineyard.

[31:39]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “without silver.”

[31:39]  ¹⁵ tc The versions have the verb “grieved” here. The Hebrew verb means “to breathe,” but the form is Hiphil. This verb in that stem could mean something of a contemptuous gesture, like “sniff” in Mal 1:13. But with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in Job 11:20 it means “to cause death,” i.e., “to cause to breathe out; to expire.” This is likely the meaning here, although it is possible that it only meant “to cause suffering” to the people.

[31:39]  ¹⁶ tn There is some debate over the meaning of בְּעָלֶיהָ (bÿ’aleyha), usually translated “its owners.” Dahood, following others (although without their emendations), thought it referred to “laborers” (see M. Dahood, Bib 41 [1960]: 303; idem, Bib 43 [1962]: 362).

[34:28]  ¹⁷ tn The verse begins with the infinitive construct of בּוֹא (bo’, “go”), showing the result of their impious actions.

[34:28]  ¹⁸ tn The verb here is an imperfect; the clause is circumstantial to the preceding clause, showing either the result, or the concomitant action.

[5:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ²² 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.

[5:7]  ²³ 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.

[18:7]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ²⁵ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ²⁶ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ²⁷ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.