And now, behold, (A)the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the (B)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

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And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing(A) them.

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22 (A)Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,
    or (B)crush the afflicted at (C)the gate,
23 for (D)the Lord will plead their cause
    and rob of life those who rob them.

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Saying 2

22 Do not exploit the poor(A) because they are poor
    and do not crush the needy in court,(B)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(C)
    and will exact life for life.(D)

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God Hears Israel's Groaning

23 (A)During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel (B)groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. (C)Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.

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23 During that long period,(A) the king of Egypt died.(B) The Israelites groaned in their slavery(C) and cried out, and their cry(D) for help because of their slavery went up to God.

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Then the Lord said, (A)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their (B)taskmasters. I know their sufferings,

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The Lord said, “I have indeed seen(A) the misery(B) of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned(C) about their suffering.(D)

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13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel (A)work as slaves 14 and (B)made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

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13 and worked them ruthlessly.(A) 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor(B) in brick(C) and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.(D)

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11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them (A)to afflict them with heavy (B)burdens. They built for Pharaoh (C)store cities, Pithom and (D)Raamses.

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11 So they put slave masters(A) over them to oppress them with forced labor,(B) and they built Pithom and Rameses(C) as store cities(D) for Pharaoh.

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22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, (A)“Every son that is born to the Hebrews[a] you shall cast into (B)the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:22 Samaritan, Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew lacks to the Hebrews

22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,(A) but let every girl live.”(B)

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Woe to the Oppressors

(A)Woe to those who devise wickedness
    and work evil (B)on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
    because it is in the power of their hand.
They covet fields and (C)seize them,
    and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
    a man and his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against (D)this family I am devising disaster,[a]
    from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you (E)shall not walk haughtily,
    (F)for it will be a time of disaster.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 2:3 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context

Human Plans and God’s Plans

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
    to those who plot evil(A) on their beds!(B)
At morning’s light they carry it out
    because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields(C) and seize them,(D)
    and houses, and take them.
They defraud(E) people of their homes,
    they rob them of their inheritance.(F)

Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disaster(G) against this people,
    from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,(H)
    for it will be a time of calamity.

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33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (A)The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; (B)they refuse to let them go. 34 (C)Their Redeemer is strong; (D)the Lord of hosts is his name. (E)He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

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33 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“The people of Israel are oppressed,(A)
    and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
    refusing to let them go.(B)
34 Yet their Redeemer(C) is strong;
    the Lord Almighty(D) is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause(E)
    so that he may bring rest(F) to their land,
    but unrest to those who live in Babylon.

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The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

(A)If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, (B)do not be amazed at the matter, (C)for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

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Riches Are Meaningless

If you see the poor oppressed(A) in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.

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Evil Under the Sun

(A)Again I (B)saw all (C)the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had (D)no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.

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Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

Again I looked and saw all the oppression(A) that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.(B)

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“Because (A)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    (B)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the (C)safety for which he longs.”

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“Because the poor are plundered(A) and the needy groan,(B)
    I will now arise,(C)” says the Lord.
    “I will protect them(D) from those who malign them.”

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“Hear this word, (A)you cows of Bashan,
    who are (B)on the mountain of Samaria,
(C)who oppress the poor, (D)who crush the needy,
    who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’

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Israel Has Not Returned to God

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(A) on Mount Samaria,(B)
    you women who oppress the poor(C) and crush the needy(D)
    and say to your husbands,(E) “Bring us some drinks!(F)

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