English Standard Version
Exodus 2:23
23During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
Exodus 2:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
- New International Version (NIV)During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.
Context of Exodus 2:23
21And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land." During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Read all of Exodus 2Exodus 2:23 word by word
וַיְהִי֩ בַיָּמִ֨ים הָֽרַבִּ֜ים הָהֵ֗ם וַיָּ֙מָת֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם וַיֵּאָנְח֧וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל מִן־הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה וַיִּזְעָ֑קוּ וַתַּ֧עַל שַׁוְעָתָ֛ם אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it came to pass in processרַבrab · manyH7227
- And it came to pass in processהֵ֫מָּהhêm hêmmâh · they(masc.)H1992
- of timeיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- that the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- and the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- sighedאָנַח'ânach · to sighH584
- by reason ofמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
- the bondageעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656
- and they criedזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
- and their cryשַׁוְעָהshav‛âh · cryH7775
- came upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- unto Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
Cross-references for Exodus 2:23
- Exodus 7:7Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
- Acts 7:30"Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
- Exodus 4:19And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead."
- Matthew 2:19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
- Acts 12:23Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
- Genesis 16:11And the angel of the Lord said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
- Numbers 20:16And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
- Deuteronomy 26:6And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor.
- Psalms 12:5"Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the Lord; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs."
- Exodus 3:7Then the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
- Exodus 22:22You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
- Genesis 4:10And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
- Genesis 18:20Then the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
- Deuteronomy 24:15You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.
- Judges 10:11And the Lord said to the people of Israel, "Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines?
- Nehemiah 9:9"And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea,
Commentaries on Exodus 2:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23In process of time - the king of Egypt died - According to St. Stephen, ( Acts 7:30, compared with Exodus 7:7;), the death of the Egyptian king happened about forty years after the escape of Moses to Midian. The words ההם הרבים בימים ויהי vayehi baiyamim harabbim hahem, which we translate And it came to pass in process of time, signify, And it was in many days from these that the king, etc. It has already been remarked that Archbishop Usher supposes this…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23In process of time - Nearly forty years Acts 7:30. This verse marks the beginning of another section. We now enter at once upon the history of the Exodus. Their cry came up unto God - This statement, taken in connection with the two following verses, proves that the Israelites retained their faith in the God of their Fathers. The divine name, “God,” אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym is chosen because it was that which the Israelites must have used in their cry for help…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-25Verses 23-25 The Israelites' bondage in Egypt continued, though the murdering of their infants did not continue. Sometimes the Lord suffers the rod of the wicked to lie very long and very heavy on the lot of the righteous. At last they began to think of God under their troubles. It is a sign that the Lord is coming towards us with deliverance, when he inclines and enables us to cry to him for it. God heard their groaning; he made it to appear that he took…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-25This passage shows the concern Moses felt for the oppressed. It describes his move to a new land (2:18–22). He married, had a child, and lived there for 40 years (Acts 7:30). From a human perspective, rescuing the Israelites through Moses seemed impossible. But what God's perspective is what matters. The end of this section tells us that God had not forgotten his people (Exodus 2:23–25). He was only waiting for the right time to act (2:25).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage--The language seems to imply that the Israelites had experienced a partial relaxation, probably through the influence of Moses' royal patroness; but in the reign of her father's successor the persecution was renewed with increased severity.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 2:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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