Keluaran 3:7

3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen ¹  the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ² 

Keluaran 5:8

5:8 But you must require ³  of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. ⁴  Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. ⁵  That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’

Keluaran 12:30

12:30 Pharaoh got up ⁶  in the night, ⁷  along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house ⁸  in which there was not someone dead.

Keluaran 14:10

14:10 When ⁹  Pharaoh got closer, ¹⁰  the Israelites looked up, ¹¹  and there were the Egyptians marching after them, ¹²  and they were terrified. ¹³  The Israelites cried out to the Lord, ¹⁴ 

[3:7]  ¹ tn The use of the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense intensifies the statement: I have surely seen – there is no doubt that I have seen and will do something about it.

[3:7]  ² sn Two new words are introduced now to the report of suffering: “affliction” and “pain/suffering.” These add to the dimension of the oppression of God’s people.

[5:8]  ³ tn The verb is the Qal imperfect of שִׂים (sim, “place, put”). The form could be an imperfect of instruction: “You will place upon them the quota.” Or, as here, it may be an obligatory imperfect: “You must place.”

[5:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “yesterday and three days ago” or “yesterday and before that” is idiomatic for “previously” or “in the past.”

[5:8]  ⁵ tn Or “loafers.” The form נִרְפִּים (nirpim) is derived from the verb רָפָה (rafah), meaning “to be weak, to let oneself go.” They had been letting the work go, Pharaoh reasoned, and being idle is why they had time to think about going to worship.

[12:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “arose,” the verb קוּם (qum) in this context certainly must describe a less ceremonial act. The entire country woke up in terror because of the deaths.

[12:30]  ⁷ tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of time – “in the night” or “at night.”

[12:30]  ⁸ sn Or so it seemed. One need not push this description to complete literalness. The reference would be limited to houses that actually had firstborn people or animals. In a society in which households might include more than one generation of humans and animals, however, the presence of a firstborn human or animal would be the rule rather than the exception.

[14:10]  ⁹ tn The disjunctive vav introduces a circumstantial clause here.

[14:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “drew near.”

[14:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lifted up their eyes,” an expression that indicates an intentional and careful looking – they looked up and fixed their sights on the distance.

[14:10]  ¹² tn The construction uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) with the participle, traditionally rendered “and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them.” The deictic particle calls attention in a dramatic way to what was being seen. It captures the surprise and the sudden realization of the people.

[14:10]  ¹³ tn The verb “feared” is intensified by the adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od): “they feared greatly” or “were terrified.” In one look their defiant boldness seems to have evaporated.

[14:10]  ¹⁴ sn Their cry to the Lord was proper and necessary. But their words to Moses were a rebuke and disloyal, showing a lack of faith and understanding. Their arrogance failed them in the crisis because it was built on the arm of flesh. Moses would have to get used to this murmuring, but here he takes it in stride and gives them the proper instructions. They had cried to the Lord, and now the Lord would deliver.