'Answer' in the Bible

He will protest on that day, saying,“I will not be a governor;For in my house there is neither bread nor clothing;You should not make me a judge and ruler of the people.”

Cry aloud with your voice [in consternation], O Daughter of Gallim!Pay attention, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth!

Hyenas will howl in their castles,And jackals in their luxurious palaces.Babylon’s time has nearly come,And her days will not be prolonged.

“Then what answer will one give the messengers of the [Philistine] nation?That the Lord has founded Zion,And the afflicted of His people will seek and find refuge in it.”

O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will most certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry for help; when He hears it, He will answer you.

But they kept silent and did not say a word to him in reply, for King Hezekiah’s command was, “Do not answer him.”

“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none;Their tongues are parched with thirst.I, the Lord, will answer them Myself;I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them.

“But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],And there is no counselor among them,Who, if I ask, can give an answer.

“They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it;They set it in its place and there it remains standing.It cannot move from its place.Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer;It cannot save him from his distress.

“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?When I called, why was there no one to answer?Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?Or have I no power to rescue?Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers into a desert;Their fish stink because there is no waterAnd die of thirst.

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression],The finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech,

I will destine you for the sword, [says the Lord],And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,Because when I called, you did not answer;When I spoke, you did not listen or obey.But you did [what was] evil in My sightAnd chose that in which I did not delight.”

“It shall also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.