If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Parallel translations
- WEB If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry;
- BSB If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry.
- NKJV If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry;
- NASB If you oppress him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will assuredly hear his cry;
- NLT If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If the vulnerable are mistreated and cry out, God will surely hear them. The oppressed have a direct advocate in the Lord.
Overview
God personally pledges to hear the cry of the afflicted widow and orphan, just as He heard Israel's groaning in Egypt. This assures the powerless that their suffering does not escape His notice. The God who hears the cry of the oppressed answers ultimately in Christ, who bore our griefs and intercedes for us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Job 34:28So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
- Ps 10:17–18LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
- Ps 18:6In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
- Luke 18:7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
- Deut 15:9Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
- Job 35:9By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.
- Jas 5:4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
- Ps 145:19He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
- Ps 146:7–9Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:
- Job 31:38–39If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;
- Ps 140:12I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
- Deut 24:15At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
- Prov 23:10–11Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
- Prov 22:22–23Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 22:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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