Exodus 2:23
New International Version
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 Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
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.

King James Bible
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 King James Version
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 American Standard Bible
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.

NASB 1995
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.

NASB 1977
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the slavery, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their slavery rose up to God.

Amplified Bible
Now it happened after a long time [about forty years] that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel (Jacob) groaned and sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.

Christian Standard Bible
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor.

American Standard Version
And it came to pass in the course of those many days, 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.

Contemporary English Version
After the death of the king of Egypt, the Israelites still complained because they were forced to be slaves. They cried out for help,

English Revised Version
And it came to pass in the course of those many days, 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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
After a long time passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God.

Good News Translation
Years later the king of Egypt died, but the Israelites were still groaning under their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry went up to God,

International Standard Version
The king of Egypt eventually died, and the Israelis groaned because of the bondage. They cried out, and their cry for deliverance from slavery ascended to God.

Majority Standard Bible
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.

NET Bible
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.

New Heart English Bible
It happened in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

Webster's Bible Translation
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 ascended to God, by reason of the bondage.

World English Bible
In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And it comes to pass during these many days, that the king of Egypt dies, and the sons of Israel sigh because of the service, and cry, and their cry goes up to God, because of the service;

Young's Literal Translation
And it cometh to pass during these many days, that the king of Egypt dieth, and the sons of Israel sigh because of the service, and cry, and their cry goeth up unto God, because of the service;

Smith's Literal Translation
And it will be in these many days, and the king of Egypt will die: and the sons of Israel will groan, from the work; and they will cry out, and their supplication will go up to God from the work.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Now after a long time the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel groaning, cried out because of the works: and their cry went up unto God from the works.

Catholic Public Domain Version
In truth, after a long time, the king of Egypt was dead. And the sons of Israel, groaning, cried out because of the works. And their cry ascended to God from the works.

New American Bible
A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God.

New Revised Standard Version
After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And it came to pass after a long time that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel groaned because of severe oppression, and they prayed, and their cry came up to God because of severe oppression.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And many days passed and the King of Egypt died and the children of Israel groaned from the hard oppression, and they prayed, and their cry came up to God from the oppression.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And it came to pass in the course of those many days 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.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And in those days after a length of time, the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel groaned because of their tasks, and cried, and their cry because of their tasks went up to God.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God Hears the Cry of the Israelites
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. 24So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.…

Cross References
Exodus 3:7-9
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. / I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. / And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.

Exodus 6:5
Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.

Exodus 1:11-14
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. / But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. / They worked the Israelites ruthlessly ...

Exodus 1:8-10
Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. / “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. / Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

Exodus 1:15-22
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, / “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.” / The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. ...

Genesis 15:13-14
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. / But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.

Acts 7:34
I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

Acts 7:19
He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.

Acts 7:23-25
When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. / And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him. / He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not.

Nehemiah 9:9
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.

Psalm 12:5
“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

Psalm 34:17
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.

Psalm 102:19-20
For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth / to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death,

Psalm 107:6
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.

Isaiah 19:20
It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender to rescue them.


Treasury of Scripture

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 to God by reason of the bondage.

A.

Exodus 7:7
And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

Acts 7:30
And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

the king.

Exodus 4:19
And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

Matthew 2:19,20
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, …

Acts 12:23,24
And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost…

sighed.

Genesis 16:11
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

Numbers 20:16
And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:

Deuteronomy 26:6,7
And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: …

cry.

Exodus 3:7-9
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; …

Exodus 22:22-27
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child…

Genesis 4:10
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

Jump to Previous
Ascended Bondage Children Course Cried Cry Crying Died Egypt End Groaned Help Israel Israelites Period Process Reason Rose Sighed Slavery Time
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Ascended Bondage Children Course Cried Cry Crying Died Egypt End Groaned Help Israel Israelites Period Process Reason Rose Sighed Slavery Time
Exodus 2
1. Moses is born, and placed in a basket in the reeds of Nile.
5. He is found, and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter;
7. who employs his mother to nurse him.
11. He kills an Egyptian.
13. He reproves a Hebrew.
15. He flees into Midian, and marries Zipporah.
22. Gershom is born.
23. God respects the Israelites' cry.














After a long time, the king of Egypt died.
This phrase indicates a significant passage of time since the events of Exodus 1, where the Israelites were first subjected to harsh slavery. The death of the Pharaoh marks a potential turning point in the narrative, as it often did in ancient Near Eastern cultures, where a change in leadership could lead to shifts in policy or treatment of subjugated peoples. Historically, the identity of this Pharaoh is debated, but it is generally placed within the New Kingdom period of Egypt, possibly during the reigns of Thutmose III or Ramses II. The death of a king could also symbolize the end of an era of oppression, setting the stage for divine intervention.

The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery,
The groaning and crying out of the Israelites reflect the intense suffering and oppression they experienced. This language emphasizes the severity of their bondage and the desperation of their situation. In the cultural context, groaning and crying out were common expressions of distress and were often directed towards deities in hopes of relief. This phrase also highlights the fulfillment of God's earlier prophecy to Abraham in Genesis 15:13, where God foretold that Abraham's descendants would be enslaved and mistreated in a foreign land.

and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
This part of the verse underscores the theological theme of God hearing the cries of His people. The idea of prayers or cries ascending to God is a common biblical motif, suggesting that God is attentive and responsive to human suffering. This sets the stage for God's intervention and the subsequent deliverance of the Israelites, which is a central theme in the book of Exodus. Theologically, this anticipates the role of Jesus Christ as the ultimate deliverer, who hears the cries of humanity and provides salvation. The cry for deliverance also connects to other scriptural instances where God responds to the oppressed, such as in Psalm 34:17 and James 5:4.

Persons / Places / Events
1. King of Egypt
The Pharaoh who had enslaved the Israelites. His death marks a significant turning point in the account.

2. Israelites
The descendants of Jacob, living in Egypt under harsh slavery, longing for deliverance.

3. Egypt
The land where the Israelites were enslaved, representing a place of oppression and suffering.

4. Bondage
The state of slavery and oppression experienced by the Israelites, prompting their cries to God.

5. God
The Almighty who hears the cries of His people and is about to act on their behalf.
Teaching Points
God Hears Our Cries
Just as God heard the Israelites, He hears our cries today. We can be assured that our prayers and pleas do not go unnoticed by Him.

The Timing of God
The Israelites waited a long time for deliverance. God's timing is perfect, even when it seems delayed to us. Trust in His timing and plan.

The Role of Suffering
Suffering can lead us to a deeper dependence on God. The Israelites' bondage led them to cry out to God, which initiated their deliverance.

Hope in Oppression
Even in the darkest times, there is hope. The Israelites' situation seemed hopeless, yet God was preparing their deliverance.

God's Faithfulness to His Promises
God had promised deliverance to Abraham, and He was faithful to fulfill it. We can trust in God's promises to us today.(23) in process of time.--Heb., in those many days. As Moses was now eighty years old (Exodus 7:7), and only forty when he quitted Egypt, the Pharaoh from whom he fled must have reigned above forty years. Between the commencement of the eighteenth and the close of the nineteenth dynasty, two kings only seem to have reigned so long as this--Thothmes III. and Rameses II. Our choice of the Pharaoh from whom Moses fled thus lies between these two.

The children of Israel sighed.--Or, "groaned." They had perhaps expected that a new king would initiate a new policy, or, at any rate, signalise his accession by a remission of burthens. But the new monarch did neither.

Their cry came up unto God.--"Exceeding bitter cries" always find their way to the ears of God. The existing oppression was such that Israel cried to God as they had never cried before, and so moved Him to have compassion on them. The miraculous action, begun in Exodus 3, is the result of the cries and groans here mentioned.

Verses 23-25. - DEATH OF THE PHARAOH FROM WHOM MOSES FLED - CONTINUANCE OF THE OPPRESSION OF ISRAEL-ISRAEL'S PRAYERS - GOD'S ACCEPTANCE OF THEM. - After a space of forty years from the time of Moses' flight from Egypt, according to the estimate of St. Stephen (Acts 7:30), which is not, however, to be strictly pressed, the king whose anger he had provoked - Rameses II., as we believe - died. He had reigned sixty-seven years - about forty-seven alone, and about twenty in conjunction with his father. At his death, the oppressed Israelites ventured to hope for some amelioration of their condition. On his accession, a king in the East often reverses the policy of his predecessor, or at any rate, to make himself popular, grants a remission of burthens for a certain period. But at this time the new monarch, Menephthah I., the son of Rameses II., disappointed the hopes of the Israelites, maintained his father's policy, continued the established system of oppression, granted them no relief of any kind. They "sighed," therefore, in consequence of their disappointment, and "cried" unto God in their trouble, and made supplication to him more earnestly, more heartily, than ever before. We need not suppose that they had previously fallen away from their faith, and "now at last returned to God after many years of idolatrous aberration" (Aben Ezra, Kalisch). But there was among them an access of religious fervour; they "turned to God" from a state of deadness, rather from one of alienation, and raised a "cry" of the kind to which he is never deaf. God therefore "heard their groaning," deigned to listen to their prayers, and commenced the course of miraculous action which issued in the Exodus. (This section is more closely connected with what follows than with what went before, and would better begin ch. 3. than terminate ch. 2.) Verse 23. - In process of time. Literally, "in those many days." The reign of Rameses II. was exceptionally long, as previously explained. He had already reigned twenty-seven years when Moses fled from him (Exodus 2:15). He had now reigned sixty-seven, and Moses was eighty! It had seemed a weary while to wait. The children of Israel sighed. If the time had seemed a weary while to Moses, how much more to his nation! He had escaped and was in Midian - they toiled on in Egypt. He kept sheep - they had their lives made "bitter" for them "with hard bondage, in molter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field" (Exodus 1:14). He could bring up his sons in safety; their sons were still thrown into the river. No wonder that "an exceeding bitter cry" went up to God from the oppressed people, so soon as they found that they had nothing to hope from the new king.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
After a long
הָֽרַבִּ֜ים (hā·rab·bîm)
Article | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7227: Much, many, great

time,
בַיָּמִ֨ים (ḇay·yā·mîm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117: A day

the king
מֶ֣לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Egypt
מִצְרַ֔יִם (miṣ·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

died.
וַיָּ֙מָת֙ (way·yā·māṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

The Israelites
בְנֵֽי־ (ḇə·nê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

groaned
וַיֵּאָנְח֧וּ (way·yê·’ā·nə·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 584: To sigh, groan

and cried out
וַיִּזְעָ֑קוּ (way·yiz·‘ā·qū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2199: To shriek, to announce, convene publicly

under their
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

burden of slavery,
הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה (hā·‘ă·ḇō·ḏāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5656: Work of any kind

and their cry for deliverance
שַׁוְעָתָ֛ם (šaw·‘ā·ṯām)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 7775: A cry for help

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

bondage
הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃ (hā·‘ă·ḇō·ḏāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5656: Work of any kind

ascended
וַתַּ֧עַל (wat·ta·‘al)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

God.
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative


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OT Law: Exodus 2:23 It happened in the course of those (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 2:22
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