Quotes About Suffering

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.

They carried off all their possessions and women and children, and they plundered everything in their houses.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing—

and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.

His father recognized it and said, “It is my sonís robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

So Josephís master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the kingís prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,

For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”

Now the famine was still severe in the land.

And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.

There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine.

They worked the Israelites ruthlessly

and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.

God saw the Israelites and took notice.

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.

And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them.

So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ëI am no longer giving you straw.

Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaohís taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

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

No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ëMake bricks!í Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

“May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”

So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?

Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.í”