ma.tsoq denotes affliction, especially the pressure of an enemy siege, and also personal hardship.

The term most often occurs in descriptions of enemy-imposed siege pressure, where deprivation drives extreme suffering; it also appears for distress experienced by persons apart from a siege setting.

1. Affliction under enemy siege · dominant

   In Deuteronomy 28:53, Deuteronomy 28:55, and Deuteronomy 28:57, the masculine singular absolute form occurs with siege and an enemy pressing upon the people in their gates, amid descriptions of desperate lack. In Jeremiah 19:9 the APB renders the setting as “the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.”

   Deuteronomy 28:53Deuteronomy 28:55Deuteronomy 28:57Jeremiah 19:9
2. Personal hardship and trouble · common

   In 1 Samuel 22:2, the masculine singular absolute form describes those who gathered to him while in a condition of hardship, alongside people with a creditor and those bitter of soul. In Psalm 119:143, the APB renders the clause “Distress and anguish have found me,” while the speaker declares delight in the commandments.

   1 Samuel 22:2Psalm 119:143

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB explicitly uses “distress” in the siege clauses and in Psalm 119:143, while 1 Samuel 22:2 describes those “in distress.” These renderings confirm the verses’ situations rather than establish a separate English equivalent in every clause.