'Cry' in the Bible

Now look, their brave men shout outside;The ambassadors [seeking a treaty] of peace weep bitterly.

The sinners in Zion are terrified;Trembling has seized the godless.[They cry] “Who among us can live with the consuming fire?Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”

“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,And call out to her, that her time of compulsory service in warfare is finished,That her wickedness has been taken away [since her punishment is sufficient],That she has received from the Lord’s handDouble [punishment] for all her sins.”

A voice says, “Call out [prophesy].”Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”[The voice answered:] All humanity is [as frail as] grass, and all that makes it attractive [its charm, its loveliness] is [momentary] like the flower of the field.

“He will not call out or shout aloud,Nor make His voice heard in the street.

The Lord will go forth like a warrior,He will stir up His zeal like a man of war;He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry.He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies.

“I [the Lord] have been silent for a long time,I have been still and restrained Myself.Now I will moan like a woman in labor,I will both gasp and pant.

“Shout for joy, O barren one, she who has not given birth;Break forth into joyful shouting and rejoice, she who has not gone into labor [with child]!For the [spiritual] sons of the desolate one will be more numerousThan the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.

“When you cry out [for help], let your [ridiculous] collection of idols save you.But the wind will carry them all away,A [mere] breath will take them.But he who takes refuge in Me will possess the land [Judea]And will inherit My holy mountain.”

“Cry aloud, do not hold back;Lift up your voice like a trumpet,And declare to My people their transgressionAnd to the house of Jacob their sins.

“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,

“Indeed, My servants will shout for joy from a happy heart,But you will cry out with a heavy heart,And you shall wail and howl from a broken spirit.

“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;And there will no longer be heard in herThe voice of weeping and the sound of crying.

“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,“I remember [earnestly] the lovingkindness and devotion of your youth,Your time of betrothal [like that of a bride during the early years in Egypt and again at Sinai],When you followed Me in the wilderness,Through a land not sown.

Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,“Blow the trumpet in the land;Cry aloud and say,‘Assemble yourselves, and let us goInto the fortified cities.’

My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart!My heart is pounding and throbbing within me;I cannot be silent,For you have heard, O my soul,The sound of the trumpet,The alarm of war.

For I heard a cry like a woman in labor,The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,The cry of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), who gasps for breath,Who stretches out her hands, saying,“Woe is me [my judgment comes]! I faint [in fear] before the murderers.”

“[They shout], ‘Prepare for war against her;Arise, let us [take her by surprise and] attack her at noon.But alas, the daylight pales,The evening shadows grow long.

“Therefore, do not pray for this people [of Judah] or lift up a cry or entreaty for them or make intercession to Me, for I do not hear you.

Behold, [hear the sound of] the cry of the daughter of my people from the distant land [of Babylon]:“Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King within her?”[But the Lord answers] “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images and with foreign idols?”

Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster and suffering on them which they will not be able to escape; though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them.

Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the [man-made] gods to whom they burn incense, but they cannot save them in the time of their disaster.

“Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I shall not listen when they cry to Me in the time of their disaster.

“For even your [tribal] brothers and the household of your father,Even they have dealt treacherously (unfaithfully) with you;Indeed they are [like a pack of hounds] howling after you.Do not believe them, although they may say kind words and promise you good things.”

“Judah mournsAnd her gates languish;Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothesAnd the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

Though they fast, I will not hear their cry; and though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them [because they are done as obligations, and not as acts of loving obedience]. Instead I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Let an outcry be heard from their housesWhen You suddenly bring [a troop of] raiders upon them,For they have dug a pit to capture meAnd have hidden snares for my feet.

For whenever I speak, I must shout out;I shout violence and destruction,Because the word of the Lord has become to meA reprimand and a mockery and has brought me insult all day long.

And let that man be like the citiesWhich the Lord overthrew without regret.Let him hear an outcry in the morningAnd a shout of alarm at noon;

“Go up [north] to Lebanon and cry out,And raise your voice in [the hills of] Bashan [across the Jordan];Cry out also from Abarim,For all your lovers (allies) have been destroyed.

“Wail, you shepherds, and cry;And roll in ashes, you masters of the flock.For the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions have come in full,And you will fall and be broken into pieces like a choice vessel.

“A voice! The cry of the shepherdsAnd the wailing of the masters of the flock!For the Lord is destroying their pasture,

‘Why do you cry out over your injury [since it is the natural result of your sin]?Your pain is incurable (deadly).Because your guilt is greatAnd your sins are glaring and innumerable,I have done these things to you.

“For there will be a day when the watchmenOn the hills of Ephraim cry out,‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,To the Lord our God.’”

The nations have heard of your disgrace and shame,And your cry [of distress] has filled the earth.For warrior has stumbled against warrior,And both of them have fallen together.

Thus says the Lord:“Behold, waters are going to rise out of the north (Babylonia)And become an overflowing streamAnd overflow the land and all that is in it,The city and those who live in it.Then the people will cry out,And all the inhabitants of the land [of Philistia] will wail.

“The sound of an outcry from Horonaim,‘Desolation and great destruction!’

“Moab is destroyed;Her little ones have called out a cry of distress [to be heard as far as Zoar].

“For the Ascent of LuhithWill be climbed by [successive groups of] fugitives with continual weeping;For on the descent of HoronaimThey have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.

“Moab is shamed, for she has been broken down and shattered.Wail and cry out!Tell by [the banks of] the ArnonThat Moab has been destroyed.

“Therefore I will wail over Moab,And I will cry out for all Moab.I will sigh and mourn over the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth).

“So joy and gladness are taken awayFrom the fruitful field and from the land of Moab.And I have made the wine cease from the wine presses;No one treads the grapes with shouting.Their shouting is not joyful shouting [but is instead, a battle cry].

From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolations.

“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai [in Ammon] has been destroyed!Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!Wrap yourselves with sackcloth and lament (cry out in grief),And rush back and forth inside the enclosures;For Malcam [your powerless god] will go into exileTogether with his priests and his princes.

“They (the Babylonians) will take away their tents and their flocks;They will carry off for themselvesTheir tent curtains, all their goods and their camels,And they will call out to one another, ‘Terror on every side!’

“Raise the battle cry against her on every side!She has given her hand [in agreement] and has surrendered; her pillars have fallen,Her walls have been torn down.For this is the vengeance of the Lord:Take vengeance on her;As she has done [to others], do to her.

“The noise of battle is in the land,And [the noise of] great destruction.

At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the earth quakes, and an outcry is heard among the nations.

The sound of an outcry [comes] from Babylon,And [the sound] of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

All your enemiesHave opened their mouths wide against you;They [scornfully] hiss and gnash their teeth.They say, “We have swallowed her up!Certainly this is the day for which we waited;We have reached it, we have seen it!”

“Arise, cry aloud in the night,At the beginning of the night watches;Pour out your heart like waterBefore the presence of the Lord;Lift up your hands to HimFor the life of your little onesWho are faint from hungerAt the head of every street.”

Even when I cry out and shout for help,He shuts out my prayer.

Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare [them]; and though they cry loudly in My ears, yet I will not listen to them.”

Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with My [terrified] people. Therefore strike your thigh and strike your chest [in grief].

In his right hand is the lot marked for Jerusalem: to set battering rams, to open the mouth calling for destruction, to lift up the voice with a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to put up assault ramps, and to build siege walls.

“The pasture lands and the countryside will shakeAt the [piercing] sound of the [hopeless, wailing] cry of your pilots.

And they will make their voice heard [as they wail loudly] over youAnd they will cry bitterly.They will throw dust on their heads;They will wallow in ashes.

They do not cry out to Me from their heartWhen they wail on their beds [in unbelieving despair];For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves [as if worshiping Baal];They rebel against Me.

Then they will cry out to Me,“My God, we of Israel know You!”

Consecrate a fast,Proclaim a solemn assembly,Gather the eldersAnd all the inhabitants of the landTo the house of the Lord your God,And cry out to the Lord [in penitent pleadings].

O Lord, I cry out to You,For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.

Even the wild animals pant [in longing] for You;For the water brooks are dried upAnd fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.

Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?Does a young lion growl from his den if he has not captured something?

“Go to Nineveh the great city and declare to it the message which I am going to tell you.”

But both man and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and every one is to call on God earnestly and forcefully that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence that is in his hands.

Then they will cry to the Lord,But He will not answer them;Instead, He will even hide His face from them at that time [withholding His mercy]Because they have practiced and tolerated and ignored evil acts.

Thus says the Lord concerning the [false] prophets who lead my people astray;When they have something good to bite with their teeth,They call out, “Peace,”But against the one who gives them nothing to eat,They declare a holy war.

“Now, why do you cry out loudly?Is there no king among you?Has your counselor perished?For agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.

Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,Now her inhabitants are fleeing;“Stop! Stop!” [a few cry,]But no one turns back.

O Lord, how long will I call for helpAnd You will not hear?I cry out to You, “Violence!”Yet You do not save.

“For the stone will cry out from the wall [to accuse you—built in sin!]And the rafter will answer it out of the woodwork.

The great [judgment] day of the Lord is near,Near and coming very quickly.Listen! The [voice of the] day of the Lord!The warrior cries out bitterly [unable to fight or to flee].

A day of trumpet and the battle cry [of invaders]Against the fortified citiesAnd against the high corner towers (battlements).

So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am jealous [with a burning, fiery passion] for Jerusalem and for Zion [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine] with a great jealousy.

Proclaim again, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord shall again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”

And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts;

“He will not quarrel, nor cry out loudly;Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

And a Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon.”

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out [terribly from the depths of his throat],

Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.”

Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise],“Hosanna (Save, I pray)!Blessed (praised, glorified) is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

But Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed out His last [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan].

And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

There was a man in the synagogue who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud and terrible voice,

Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!”

And will not [our just] God defend and avenge His elect [His chosen ones] who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay [in providing justice] on their behalf?

Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these [people] keep silent, the stones will cry out [in praise]!”

But they [loudly] shouted out all together, saying, “Away with this Man, and release Barabbas to us!”

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!”

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted, He is able to help and provide immediate assistance to those who are being tempted and exposed to suffering.

And another angel came from the altar, the one who has power over fire; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and reap the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe [for judgment].”

And I heard [another from] the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], Your judgments are true and fair and righteous.”

standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.’