Hebrew word · H4691

מְצוּקָה

mimetzukoteihem

distress

Distress, anguish, a state of being pressed. It comes from the root ṣwq, "to press, constrain, oppress" (compare Deut 28:53, 55, 57, the siege that "presses" a city). It occurs only a few times: Pss 25:17; 107:6, 13, 19, 28; Zeph 1:15 (alongside ṣārâ, as a pair).

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

straitness, distress, straits, stress

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 107:19

Range of meaning

Distress, anguish, a state of being pressed. It comes from the root ṣwq, "to press, constrain, oppress" (compare Deut 28:53, 55, 57, the siege that "presses" a city). It occurs only a few times: Pss 25:17; 107:6, 13, 19, 28; Zeph 1:15 (alongside ṣārâ, as a pair).

Against the English

"Distress" is fine. The KJV/WEB/NASB plural "distresses" keeps the Hebrew plural, which points to many sides of the pressure. The BSB's singular "distress" smooths that over.

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears in all four refrains of Psalm 107. Zephaniah 1:15 pairs ṣārâ ûmĕṣûqâ, "distress and anguish," in the same way ṣar and mĕṣûqôt are paired here.

From the study of Psalm 107:28

Range of meaning

Straits, pressure, distress. It comes from tsuq, 'to press, squeeze, constrain' (HALOT). It appears only a few times, all in poetry (Psalms 25:17; 107:6, 13, 19, 28; Zephaniah 1:15).

Against the English

KJV keeps the plural, 'distresses.' Most modern versions make it singular, which loses the sense of pressure coming from every side.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 25:17 pairs it with 'the troubles of my heart' widening out. In Zephaniah 1:15 it is joined to tsarah ('tightness') to describe the day of Yahweh. The related word matsoq appears in Deuteronomy 28:53, 'the siege and the straits your enemy will press on you.'

From the study of Psalm 107:13

Range of meaning

Distress, straits, constraint. It comes from tsuq, 'to press, squeeze, constrain'. It appears only a handful of times, all in the Psalms and Zephaniah.

Against the English

KJV and WEB keep the plural ('distresses'). BSB and NIV flatten it to the singular 'distress', which loses the sense of many layered pressures.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same refrain appears in Ps 107:6, 19 and 28. Zeph 1:15 pairs it with tsarah: 'a day of distress and anguish'. Ps 25:17 says 'bring me out of my distresses' (mimmetsuqotai).

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 15:24 וּמְצוּקָ֑ה and distress

    Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

Psalms · 5

  1. Psalm 25:17 מִ֝מְּצֽוּקוֹתַ֗י from distresses my

    The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress.

  2. Psalm 107:6 מִ֝מְּצֽוּקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם from troubles their

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

    Here: 'From their straits.' The word is plural and comes from a root meaning to press or squeeze, so it means the many things that were crushing them: hunger, thirst, exposure, being lost. The preposition 'from' prepares for the picture of being pulled out.

  3. Psalm 107:13 מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם from troubles their

    Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.

    Here: 'From their squeezings'. This is plural, so their pressures were many. The word comes from a root meaning to press or constrain, so it repeats the 'narrow place' picture.

  4. Psalm 107:19 מִ֝מְּצֻֽקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם from troubles their

    Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.

    Here: "From their crushing pressures." The noun is plural, so it means many kinds of being squeezed. It repeats the idea of baṣṣar with a second word for constriction. The word is placed first in its line for emphasis: it is *out of these* that he saves.

  5. Psalm 107:28 וּֽ֝מִמְּצֽוּקֹתֵיהֶ֗ם and from troubles their

    Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.

    Here: 'And from their straits.' The word is plural, as if many pressures were closing in at once. It comes from a root meaning to press or squeeze, so it repeats the 'tight place' picture of the line before.

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 1:15 וּמְצוּקָ֗ה and distress

    That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.