Exodus 3:9
What does Exodus 3:9 mean?
A plain-English look at Exodus 3:9 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Exodus 3:9 means
God reiterated the urgency and overwhelming nature of the Israelites' cry for help, emphasizing that their desperate plea had reached Him. He also confirmed His direct observation of the severe oppression they endured under the Egyptians. This powerful repetition underscores the depth of God's perception and the just cause for His intervention. It solidifies the divine imperative behind the upcoming liberation, showing that God's justice demands action in the face of such suffering.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: moreover I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: moreover I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949For now, truly, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the cruel behaviour of the Egyptians to them.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862`And now, lo, the cry of the sons of Israel hath come in unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the Egyptians.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And now behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
Context
This verse serves as a forceful reinforcement of the previous statements about Israel's suffering and God's awareness. It reiterates the "cry" and "oppression," building the case for divine intervention and creating a strong rhetorical bridge to God's direct commission of Moses. This emphasis prepares for God's command to Moses.
v.8and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
v.9This passage
v.10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Exodus 1:11
Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.
- Exodus 1:13
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
- Micah 2:1
Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
- Amos 4:1
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords, Bring, and let us drink.
- Ecclesiastes 4:1
Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
- Ecclesiastes 5:8
If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter: for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they.
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