Genesis 16:11

16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,

“You are now ¹  pregnant

and are about to give birth ²  to a son.

You are to name him Ishmael, ³ 

for the Lord has heard your painful groans. ⁴ 

Numbers 20:16

20:16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, ⁵  and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now ⁶  we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 26:6-7

26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor. 26:7 So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he ⁸  heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression.

Psalms 12:5

12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ⁹ 

because of the painful cries ¹⁰  of the needy,

I will spring into action,” ¹¹  says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ¹² 

[16:11]  ¹ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”

[16:11]  ² tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.

[16:11]  ³ sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”

[16:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.

[20:16]  ⁵ tn The word could be rendered “angel” or “messenger.” Some ambiguity may be intended in this report.

[20:16]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) to emphasize the “here and now” aspect of the report to Edom.

[20:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “your border.”

[26:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 26:2.

[12:5]  ⁹ tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.

[12:5]  ¹⁰ tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).

[12:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will rise up.”

[12:5]  ¹² tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the Lord would be promising protection to those who have the courage to support the oppressed in the court of law. However, the first part of the verse focuses on the oppressed, not their advocates.