"Now,behold,the cryof the sonsof Israelhas cometo Me; furthermore,I have seenthe oppressionwith whichthe Egyptiansare oppressingthem.
The angelof the LORDsaidto her further, "Behold,you are with child,And you will beara son;And you shall callhis nameIshmael,Becausethe LORDhas givenheedto your affliction.
"He said,'Liftup nowyour eyesand see[that] allthe malegoatswhich are matingare striped,speckled,and mottled;for I have seenallthat Labanhas been doingto you.
Then Jehoahazentreatedthe favorof the LORD,and the LORDlistenedto him; for He sawthe oppressionof Israel,howthe kingof Aramoppressedthem.
"Returnand sayto Hezekiahthe leaderof My people,'Thussaysthe LORD,the Godof your fatherDavid,"I have heardyour prayer,I have seenyour tears;behold,I will healyou. On the thirddayyou shall goup to the houseof the LORD.
"You sawthe afflictionof our fathersin Egypt,And heardtheir cryby the RedSea.
"Becauseof the devastationof the afflicted,becauseof the groaningof the needy,NowI will arise,"saysthe LORD;"I will sethim in the safetyfor which he longs."
That I may tellof allYour praises,That in the gatesof the daughterof ZionI may rejoicein Your salvation.
So they appointedtaskmastersoverthem to afflictthem with hardlabor.And they builtfor Pharaohstoragecities,Pithomand Raamses.
Then Pharaohcommandedallhis people,saying,"Everysonwho is bornyou are to castinto the Nile,and everydaughteryou are to keepalive."
Now a newkingaroseoverEgypt,whodid not knowJoseph.
Now it cameabout in [the course of] thosemanydaysthat the kingof Egyptdied.And the sonsof Israelsighedbecauseof the bondage,and they criedout; and their cryfor helpbecauseof [their] bondageroseup to God.
Godsawthe sonsof Israel,and Godtooknotice[of them].
The LORDsaid,"I have surelyseenthe afflictionof My peoplewhoare in Egypt,and have givenheedto their crybecauseof their taskmasters,for I am awareof their sufferings.
Then I lookedagainat allthe actsof oppressionwhichwere being doneunderthe sun.And behold[I saw] the tearsof the oppressedand [that] they hadnooneto comfort[them]; and on the sideof their oppressorswas power,but they hadnooneto comfort[them].
Ifyou seeoppressionof the poorand denialof justiceand righteousnessin the province,do not be shockedat the sight;for one officialwatchesoveranother official,and there are higherofficialsoverthem.
Hearthisword,you cowsof Bashanwhoare on the mountainof Samaria,Who oppressthe poor,who crushthe needy,Who sayto your husbands,"Bringnow, that we may drink!"
Then we criedto the LORD,the Godof our fathers,and the LORDheardour voiceand sawour afflictionand our toiland our oppression;
"About this timetomorrowI will sendyou a manfrom the landof Benjamin,and you shall anointhim to be princeoverMy peopleIsrael;and he will deliverMy peoplefrom the handof the Philistines.For I have regardedMy people,becausetheir cryhas cometo Me."
