New English Translation
Exodus 2:23
23During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Exodus 2:23
21Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22When she bore a son, Moses named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.” During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God. 24God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, 25God saw the Israelites, and God understood….
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 was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
- Acts 7:30“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.
- Exodus 4:19The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”
- Matthew 2:19After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
- Acts 12:23Immediately an angel of the Lord struck Herod down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.
- Genesis 16:11Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “You are now pregnant and are about to give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your painful groans.
- Numbers 20:16So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country.
- Deuteronomy 26:6But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor.
- Psalms 12:5“Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action,” says the Lord. “I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”
- Exodus 3:7The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
- Exodus 22:22“You must not afflict any widow or orphan.
- Genesis 4:10But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!
- Genesis 18:20So the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant
- Deuteronomy 24:15You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
- Judges 10:11The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,
- Nehemiah 9:9“You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you 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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