Job 34:28
in Job 34They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So that they caused the cry of the poor to come unto him, And he heard the cry of the afflicted.
KJV
So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
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This verse in Job 34
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThat they might cause the cry of the needy to come to Him, and that He might hear the voice of the poor. For when these men are proud, they who are oppressed by their pride, cry aloud to God. Or certainly, it is said that they have caused the cry of the poor to come to God, because, on their fall, the poor, that is, the humble in spirit, are appointed in their room.
This site's exposition
He strikes them for their wickedness
on Job 34:26-30
“He strikes them for their wickedness in full view” answers the charge of a hidden justice. Because “they turned aside from Him”, they caused “the cry of the poor to come before Him”, so the argument turns to mercy. Henry reads verse 29 as the hardest line for a sufferer.
This site's exposition
the cry of the poor
The oppressors of verse 27 bring about their judgment. Matthew Henry, citing Exodus 22, warns that the cry of the oppressed draws vengeance on the oppressor in the end. Adam Clarke calls the tears and groans of the poor the gravest evidence in heaven against a cruel man of power.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He shows the effect of affected malice of this kind adding, "or cause the cry of the poor to come to him," as if to say: They show themselves to be so ignorant of the ways of God that they oppress the poor whom God …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked, they turn back from God; and it is because they do not consider, not because they cannot, but because they will not.
Their case is bad who have the prayers and tears of the poor against them; for the cry of the oppressed will, sooner or later, draw down vengeance on the heads of the oppressors, and no one can say that this is more than right, Exod. xxii.
So that they cause the cry of the poor to come to him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
So that they cause the cry of the poor - They were cruel and oppressive: the poor cried through their distresses, and against their oppressors; and God heard the cry of the poor. Nothing so dreadful appears in the court of heaven against an unfeeling, hardhearted, and cruel man of power, as the prayers, tears, and groans of the poor.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him - - Their character is that of oppressors. They take away the rights of the poor; strip away their property without any just claims, and cause them to pour out their lamentations before God. And he heareth the cry of the afflicted - They oppress the poor so that they appeal unto him, but God hears their cry, and brings punishment upon the oppressor. This is “a general remark” thrown in here, meaning that God “always” regards the cry of the oppressed. Its bearing on the case before us is, that God hears the appeal which the oppressed make to him, and as a consequence brings calamity upon those who are guilty of wrong.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְהָבִ֣יא | lehavi' | to cause to come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָ֭לָיו | ʾalav | to him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צַֽעֲקַת־ | tzaakat- | [the] outcry of | H6818 → | 21 times |
| דָּ֑ל | dal | [the] poor | H1800 → | 47 times |
| וְצַעֲקַ֖ת | vetzaakat | and [the] outcry of | H6818 → | 21 times |
| עֲנִיִּ֣ים | ʾaniyim | afflicted [people] | H6041 → | 73 times |
| יִשְׁמָֽע׃ | yishma' | he heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
לְהָבִ֣יאto cause to come
lehavi'H935 →2568 times
עָ֭לָיוto him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
צַֽעֲקַת־[the] outcry of
tzaakat-H6818 →21 times
דָּ֑ל[the] poor
dalH1800 →47 times
וְצַעֲקַ֖תand [the] outcry of
vetzaakatH6818 →21 times
עֲנִיִּ֣יםafflicted [people]
ʾaniyimH6041 →73 times
יִשְׁמָֽע׃he heard
yishma'H8085 →1159 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 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.”
it leads to
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Psalms 146:7–8
He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
- Isaiah 33:10
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.
- Psalms 34:6
Through
Exodus 3:7The 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.
it leads to
- 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 2:23–25
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 145:19
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXV; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.