צָעַק

Genesis 4:10 צֹעֲקִ֥ים [are] crying out

“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Here: A plural participle (a verb form for ongoing action): "are crying out," and they keep crying. The word is the outcry of someone wronged, appealing to a judge or king for help. It isn't weeping.

Genesis 27:34 וַיִּצְעַ֣ק and he cried

When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, O my father!”

Genesis 41:55 וַיִּצְעַ֥ק and it cried out

When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

Exodus 5:8 צֹֽעֲקִים֙ [are] crying out

But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

Exodus 5:15 וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ and they cried out

So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?

Exodus 8:12 וַיִּצְעַ֤ק and he cried out

After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help with the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh.

Exodus 14:10 וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ and they cried out

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.

Here: A loud call for help from people in danger or being wronged. It is the same outcry Israel raised under slavery (3:7, 9), and the one God had promised to hear.

Exodus 14:15 תִּצְעַ֖ק are you crying out

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.

Here: 'You keep crying out' or 'you are crying out'. The imperfect form can describe an ongoing action. This is the loud cry of someone in distress calling for rescue. It is the same verb used of the terrified people in v.10.

Exodus 15:25 וַיִּצְעַ֣ק and he cried out

And Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log. And when he cast it into the waters, they were sweetened. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them,

Here: A loud cry for help in distress, the same verb used for Israel's cry under Egyptian slavery (Exod 3:7, 9) and at the Sea (14:10, 15). The people grumble (v. 24); Moses cries out. The text sets the two responses side by side.

Exodus 17:4 וַיִּצְעַ֤ק and he cried out

Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”

Here: A loud outcry for help from someone in danger, not weeping. It is the same verb used for Israel's cry under Egyptian oppression and at the Red Sea (14:10); now Moses himself is the one in distress, and he takes his case to God.

Exodus 22:23 צָעֹ֤ק יִצְעַק֙ carefully <to cry out>, he will cry out

If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry.

Here: Bare verb form for emphasis: 'if he so much as cries out', 'if he cries out at all.' It takes only one cry.

Exodus 22:27 יִצְעַ֣ק he will cry out

because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Numbers 11:2 וַיִּצְעַ֥ק and it cried out

And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.

Here: A loud cry of distress aimed at someone who can help, not weeping. The verb is singular because 'the people' acts as one body: the whole camp screams to Moses as the fire burns its edge.

Numbers 12:13 וַיִּצְעַ֣ק and he cried out

So Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, please heal her!”

Here: A loud cry for help in a crisis, not weeping. It is the same verb used of Israel crying out under slavery in Egypt, and of Moses crying out to God when the people were in danger. The verb form carries the story straight on from Aaron's plea in verses 11–12.

Numbers 20:16 וַנִּצְעַ֤ק and we cried out

and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.

Here: "And we cried out": the loud cry of people being wronged, calling for help or redress. It picks up the mistreatment just described in v. 15 and echoes the Exodus story (Exod 2:23; 3:7, 9).

Deuteronomy 22:24 צָעֲקָ֣ה she cried for help

you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 22:27 צָעֲקָ֗ה she cried for help

When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

Deuteronomy 26:7 וַנִּצְעַ֕ק and we cried out

So we called out to the LORD, the God of our fathers; and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression.

Joshua 24:7 וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ and they cried out

So your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, over whom He brought the sea and engulfed them. Your very eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

Here: 'And they cried out.' This is a loud shout for help from people in danger, the cry of the oppressed calling on someone who can save them. The verb form carries the story forward from verse 6, where Pharaoh's chariots pursue Israel to the sea.

Judges 4:3 וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ and they cried out

Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.

Here: A loud shout for help from people in trouble, the cry of the oppressed calling on someone to step in. The verb form moves the story forward: next, they cried out.

Judges 7:23 וַיִּצָּעֵ֧ק and it was summoned

Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.

Judges 7:24 וַיִּצָּעֵ֞ק and he was summoned

Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.

Judges 10:12 וַתִּצְעֲק֣וּ and you cried out

Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you and you cried out to Me, did I not save you from their hands?

Judges 10:17 וַיִּצָּֽעֲקוּ֙ and they were summoned

Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

Judges 12:1 וַיִּצָּעֵק֙ and it was summoned

Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”

Here: This is the passive-reflexive form of 'cry out', meaning 'was called out, was summoned to arms'. It is the language of a war muster (compare Judges 7:23–24; 10:17). The same verb family is used in Judges for Israel 'crying out' to God in distress, and Jephthah answers in the next verse, 'I cried out to you' (וָאֶזְעַק). So the root ties the quarrel together.

1 Samuel 10:17 וַיַּצְעֵ֤ק and he called together

After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah

1 Samuel 13:4 וַיִּצָּעֲק֥וּ and they were summoned

And all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked an outpost of the Philistines, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines!” Then the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

1 Kings 20:39 צָעַ֣ק he cried out

As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’

2 Kings 2:12 מְצַעֵק֙ [was] crying out

As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.

Here: This is a rare intensive form of the verb for crying out (BDB lists only this verse for it). He is shouting loudly and repeatedly in distress while he watches, not saying a calm sentence once.

2 Kings 3:21 וַיִּצָּעֲק֗וּ and they were summoned

Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, young and old, were summoned and stationed at the border.

2 Kings 4:1 צָעֲקָ֨ה she cried out

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

Here: Not just weeping. It is a loud appeal for help against wrong, the kind of cry a victim raises to someone with authority to act. It recalls Exodus 22:22–23, where God promises to hear the cry of the widow and orphan.

2 Kings 4:40 צָעָ֗קוּ they cried out

And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.

2 Kings 6:5 וַיִּצְעַ֥ק and he cried out

As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axe head fell into the water. “Oh, my master,” he cried out, “it was borrowed!”

2 Kings 6:26 צָעֲקָ֤ה she cried out

As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

2 Kings 8:3 לִצְעֹ֣ק to cry out

At the end of seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to the king to appeal for her house and her land.

2 Kings 8:5 צֹעֶ֣קֶת [was] crying out for help

And Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought the dead back to life. Just then the woman whose son Elisha had revived came to appeal to the king for her house and her land. So Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this is the woman, and this is the son Elisha restored to life.”

2 Chronicles 13:14 וַֽיִּצְעֲק֖וּ and they cried out

When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the LORD. Then the priests blew the trumpets,

Nehemiah 9:27 יִצְעֲק֣וּ they cried out

So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.

Here: "They would cry out": a loud cry for rescue, the kind raised by the oppressed. The verb form describes something that happened again and again.

Job 19:7 אֶצְעַ֣ק I cry out

Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.

Job 35:12 יִ֭צְעֲקוּ they cry out

There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.

Psalm 34:17 צָעֲק֣וּ they cry out

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

Here: A loud cry for help from someone in danger or being wronged, not a quiet or formal prayer. The verb has no stated subject. Context (vv. 15, 19) shows it is the righteous, and the verse opens with tsade, the next letter in the psalm's alphabet pattern.

Psalm 77:1 וְאֶצְעָ֑קָה and I will cry out

For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cried out to God; I cried aloud to God to hear me.

Here: A loud cry for help, the shout of someone in trouble. The form carries resolve or desire: 'and I will cry out' or 'let me cry out.' It is a shout, not weeping.

Psalm 88:1 צָעַ֖קְתִּי I have cried out

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You.

Here: 'I have cried out.' The word is a shout of distress and a call for help, the cry of someone wronged or in danger. The Hebrew past form points to crying that started long ago and still goes on.

Psalm 107:6 וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ and they cried out

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

Here: A loud shout for help from people in danger, not a quiet or formal prayer. The verb form moves the story along: they were lost and starving (v. 5), and then they cried out.

Psalm 107:28 וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ and they cried out

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

Here: The loud cry of someone in danger or wronged, a shout for help rather than a calm prayer. The verb form tells the next step in a story: 'and so they cried out.' It is the same verb used when Israel cried out to Yahweh at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10).

Isaiah 19:20 יִצְעֲק֤וּ they will cry out

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.

Here: The anguished outcry of the wronged to someone with power to act. This is the exact word for Israel's cry under Egyptian slavery (Exod 3:7, 9) and in the Judges cycles. Now Egyptians are the ones crying.

Isaiah 33:7 צָעֲק֖וּ they have cried out

Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

Isaiah 42:2 יִצְעַ֖ק he will cry out

He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets.

Isaiah 46:7 יִצְעַ֤ק he cries out

They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.

Here: "One cries out." The subject is unspecified, so it means "anyone". This is the cry of someone in real trouble calling for rescue, the same word used for Israel crying out in Egypt.

Isaiah 65:14 תִּצְעֲקוּ֙ you will cry out

My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart and wail with a broken spirit.

Here: The cry of someone in distress calling for rescue, like Israel crying out in Egypt. It is a plea for help, and in this chapter it will not be answered (compare vv.12, 24).

Jeremiah 22:20 וּֽצְעָ֔קִי וְצַֽעֲקִי֙ and cry out

Go up to Lebanon and cry out; raise your voice in Bashan; cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers have been crushed.

Jeremiah 49:3 צְעַקְנָה֮ cry out

Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.

Here: A feminine plural command: 'Cry out, you women!' This is the loud cry of distress, the shout of people in trouble calling for help.

Lamentations 2:18 צָעַ֥ק it has cried out

The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief, and your eyes no rest.

Here: A loud cry for help from someone in distress, the cry of the oppressed that is meant to reach a rescuer (as with Israel in Egypt, Exod 3:7). The form is past, 'has cried out'. It is also the letter tsade that this verse needs in the alphabet poem.