Bible Strands
Exodus 3:7
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to Moses at the burning bush, immediately after identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v.6) and immediately before announcing the rescue (v.8).
The words — רָאֹה (ra'oh) is an adverb meaning "certainly, indeed," intensifying the verb "I have seen" and marking this as emphatic, not casual observation. עֳנִי ('oni) carries the weight of poverty, oppression, and misery — the full condition, not a single complaint.
The thread — The same pattern of divine hearing and response appears in Psalms 145:19 and 106:44, and the cry itself is set up in Exodus 2:23, where the Israelites groan under their slavery.
Why it lands — The verse is a declaration of awareness, not yet a promise of intervention; it asks the reader to sit with the fact that suffering is seen and known before it is answered.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
Cross-references
- Psalms 145:19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- Psalms 106:44 Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note of their distress.
- Exodus 2:23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- Psalms 34:6 This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Exodus 22:23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry.
- Nehemiah 9:9 You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
- Genesis 29:32 And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Exodus 1:11 So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
- Psalms 22:24 For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
- Psalms 34:4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.