There are twelve causes of afflictions:

Afflic­tion means bad, evil, adver­sity, afflic­tion, calamity, grief, sor­row, wretched­ness.  The idea is that God made sor­row, mis­ery, wretched­ness, et.c as the sure fruit of sin.  He made the law of sow­ing and reaping

1.  Sin (Gen. 3:16Gen. 3:16
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly mul­ti­ply thy sor­row and thy con­cep­tion; in sor­row thou shalt bring forth chil­dren; and thy desire shall be to thy hus­band, and he shall rule over thee. to thy…: or, sub­ject to thy hus­band  

WP-Bible plu­gin, Ps. 25:18, 89:32Ps. 25:18, 89:32
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
18 Look upon mine afflic­tion and my pain; and for­give all my sins.  

WP-Bible plu­gin)

Gen. 3:16Gen. 3:16
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly mul­ti­ply thy sor­row and thy con­cep­tion; in sor­row thou shalt bring forth chil­dren; and thy desire shall be to thy hus­band, and he shall rule over thee. to thy…: or, sub­ject to thy hus­band  

WP-Bible plu­gin “¹⁶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly mul­ti­ply thy sor­row and thy con­cep­tion; in sor­row thou shalt bring forth chil­dren; and thy desire shall be to thy hus­band, and he shall rule over thee.”

Ps. 25:18Ps. 25:18
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
18 Look upon mine afflic­tion and my pain; and for­give all my sins.  

WP-Bible plu­gin “Look upon mine afflic­tion and my pain; and for­give all my sins.

2. Back­slid­ing (Ps. 119:67Ps. 119:67
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.  

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Ps. 119:67Ps. 119:67
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.  

WP-Bible plu­gin “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.”

3. Mis­use of tongue (Pr. 26:28Pr. 26:28
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
28 A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flat­ter­ing mouth wor­keth ruin.  

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Prov. 26:28Prov. 26:28
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
28 A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flat­ter­ing mouth wor­keth ruin.  

WP-Bible plu­gin “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flat­ter­ing mouth wor­keth ruin.”

4. Resent­ment (Gen. 16:4–11Gen. 16:4–11
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she con­ceived: and when she saw that she had con­ceived, her mis­tress was despised in her eyes. ⁵ And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had con­ceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. ⁶ But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. as…: Heb. that which is good in thine eyes dealt…: Heb. afflicted her ⁷ And the angel of the LORD found her by a foun­tain of water in the wilder­ness, by the foun­tain in the way to Shur. ⁸ And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mis­tress Sarai. ⁹ And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mis­tress, and sub­mit thy­self under her hands. ¹⁰ And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will mul­ti­ply thy seed exceed­ingly, that it shall not be num­bered for mul­ti­tude. ¹¹ And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ish­mael; because the LORD hath heard thy afflic­tion. Ish­mael: that is, God shall hear  

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Gen. 16:4–11Gen. 16:4–11
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she con­ceived: and when she saw that she had con­ceived, her mis­tress was despised in her eyes. ⁵ And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had con­ceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. ⁶ But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. as…: Heb. that which is good in thine eyes dealt…: Heb. afflicted her ⁷ And the angel of the LORD found her by a foun­tain of water in the wilder­ness, by the foun­tain in the way to Shur. ⁸ And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mis­tress Sarai. ⁹ And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mis­tress, and sub­mit thy­self under her hands. ¹⁰ And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will mul­ti­ply thy seed exceed­ingly, that it shall not be num­bered for mul­ti­tude. ¹¹ And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ish­mael; because the LORD hath heard thy afflic­tion. Ish­mael: that is, God shall hear  

WP-Bible plu­gin “And he went in unto Hagar, and she con­ceived: and when she saw that she had con­ceived, her mis­tress was despised in her eyes.

 ⁵And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had con­ceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

 ⁶But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

 ⁷And the angel of the LORD found her by a foun­tain of water in the wilder­ness, by the foun­tain in the way to Shur.

 ⁸And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mis­tress Sarai.

 ⁹And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mis­tress, and sub­mit thy­self under her hands.

 ¹⁰And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will mul­ti­ply thy seed exceed­ingly, that it shall not be num­bered for multitude.

 ¹¹And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ish­mael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.”

Pride (Job. 33:14–29Job. 33:14–29
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man per­ceiveth it not. ¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep fal­l­eth upon men, in slum­ber­ings upon the bed; ¹⁶ Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruc­tion, he…: Heb. he revealeth, or, uncov­ereth ¹⁷ That he may with­draw man from his pur­pose, and hide pride from man. pur­pose: Heb. work ¹⁸ He keep­eth back his soul from the pit, and his life from per­ish­ing by the sword. from per­ish­ing: Heb. from pass­ing ¹⁹ He is chas­tened also with pain upon his bed, and the mul­ti­tude of his bones with strong pain: ²⁰ So that his life abhor­reth bread, and his soul dainty meat. dainty…: Heb. meat of desire ²¹ His flesh is con­sumed away, that it can­not be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. ²² Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroy­ers. ²³ If there be a mes­sen­ger with him, an inter­preter, one among a thou­sand, to shew unto man his upright­ness: ²⁴ Then he is gra­cious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ran­som. a ran­som: or, an atone­ment ²⁵ His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth: a child’s: Heb. child­hood ²⁶ He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will ren­der unto man his right­eous­ness. ²⁷ He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and per­verted that which was right, and it prof­ited me not; He…: or, He shall look upon men, and say ²⁸ He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. He…: or, He hath deliv­ered my soul, etc, and my life ²⁹ Lo, all these things wor­keth God often­times with man, often­times: Heb. twice and thrice  

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Job 33:14–29Job 33:14–29
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man per­ceiveth it not. ¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep fal­l­eth upon men, in slum­ber­ings upon the bed; ¹⁶ Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruc­tion, he…: Heb. he revealeth, or, uncov­ereth ¹⁷ That he may with­draw man from his pur­pose, and hide pride from man. pur­pose: Heb. work ¹⁸ He keep­eth back his soul from the pit, and his life from per­ish­ing by the sword. from per­ish­ing: Heb. from pass­ing ¹⁹ He is chas­tened also with pain upon his bed, and the mul­ti­tude of his bones with strong pain: ²⁰ So that his life abhor­reth bread, and his soul dainty meat. dainty…: Heb. meat of desire ²¹ His flesh is con­sumed away, that it can­not be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. ²² Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroy­ers. ²³ If there be a mes­sen­ger with him, an inter­preter, one among a thou­sand, to shew unto man his upright­ness: ²⁴ Then he is gra­cious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ran­som. a ran­som: or, an atone­ment ²⁵ His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth: a child’s: Heb. child­hood ²⁶ He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will ren­der unto man his right­eous­ness. ²⁷ He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and per­verted that which was right, and it prof­ited me not; He…: or, He shall look upon men, and say ²⁸ He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. He…: or, He hath deliv­ered my soul, etc, and my life ²⁹ Lo, all these things wor­keth God often­times with man, often­times: Heb. twice and thrice  

WP-Bible plu­gin “¹⁴For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man per­ceiveth it not. ¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep fal­l­eth upon men, in slum­ber­ings upon the bed;  ¹⁶Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruc­tion, ¹⁷That he may with­draw man from his pur­pose, and hide pride from man.  ¹⁸He keep­eth back his soul from the pit, and his life from per­ish­ing by the sword. ¹⁹He is chas­tened also with pain upon his bed, and the mul­ti­tude of his bones with strong pain: ²⁰So that his life abhor­reth bread, and his soul dainty meat. ²¹His flesh is con­sumed away, that it can­not be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. ²²Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroy­ers. ²³If there be a mes­sen­ger with him, an inter­preter, one among a thou­sand, to shew unto man his upright­ness: ²⁴Then he is gra­cious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ran­som  ²⁵His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth:  ²⁶He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will ren­der unto man his right­eous­ness. ²⁷He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and per­verted that which was right, and it prof­ited me not  ²⁸He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. ²⁹Lo, all these things wor­keth God often­times with man,”

6. Impen­i­tence (Pr. 1:30–31Pr. 1:30–31
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
30 They would none of my coun­sel: they despised all my reproof. ³¹ There­fore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.  

WP-Bible plu­gin; Rev. 2:21Rev. 2:21
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
21 And I gave her space to repent of her for­ni­ca­tion; and she repented not.  

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Rev. 2:21Rev. 2:21
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
21 And I gave her space to repent of her for­ni­ca­tion; and she repented not.  

WP-Bible plu­gin “And I gave her space to repent of her for­ni­ca­tion; and she repented not.”

7. Born in it (Job 5:6Job 5:6
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
6 Although afflic­tion cometh not forth of the dust, nei­ther doth trou­ble spring out of the ground; afflic­tion: or, iniq­uity  

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Job 5:6Job 5:6
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
6 Although afflic­tion cometh not forth of the dust, nei­ther doth trou­ble spring out of the ground; afflic­tion: or, iniq­uity  

WP-Bible plu­gin “Although afflic­tion cometh not forth of the dust, nei­ther doth trou­ble spring out of the ground;

8. Mis­treat­ment of oth­ers (Gen. 27 with 32:11h 32:11
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plu­gin; Gen. 37 with 42:21h 42:21
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

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9. Hard­ness of heart (Ex. 4:12Ex. 4:12
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
12 Now there­fore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.  

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10. Idol­a­try (Judg. 10:6–10; 2Judg. 10:6–10; 2
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
6 And the chil­dren of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the chil­dren of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and for­sook the LORD, and served not him. ⁷ And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the chil­dren of Ammon. ⁸ And that year they vexed and oppressed the chil­dren of Israel: eigh­teen years, all the chil­dren of Israel that were on the other side Jor­dan in the land of the Amor­ites, which is in Gilead. oppressed: Heb. crushed ⁹ More­over the chil­dren of Ammon passed over Jor­dan to fight also against Judah, and against Ben­jamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore dis­tressed. ¹⁰ And the chil­dren of Israel cried unto the LORD, say­ing, We have sinned against thee, both because we have for­saken our God, and also served Baalim. ^{2 1} And an angel of the LORD came up from Gil­gal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. angel: or, mes­sen­ger ² And ye shall make no league with the inhab­i­tants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? ³ Where­fore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. ⁴ And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the chil­dren of Israel, that the peo­ple lifted up their voice, and wept. ⁵ And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sac­ri­ficed there unto the LORD. Bochim: that is, Weep­ers ⁶ And when Joshua had let the peo­ple go, the chil­dren of Israel went every man unto his inher­i­tance to pos­sess the land. ⁷ And the peo­ple served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that out­lived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. out­lived: Heb. pro­longed days after ⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the ser­vant of the LORD, died, being an hun­dred and ten years old. ⁹ And they buried him in the bor­der of his inher­i­tance in Tim­nath­heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. Tim­nath­hares: called else­where, Tim­nath­serah ¹⁰ And also all that gen­er­a­tion were gath­ered unto their fathers: and there arose another gen­er­a­tion after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. ¹¹ And the chil­dren of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: ¹² And they for­sook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and fol­lowed other gods, of the gods of the peo­ple that were round about them, and bowed them­selves unto them, and pro­voked the LORD to anger. ¹³ And they for­sook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. ¹⁴ And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he deliv­ered them into the hands of spoil­ers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their ene­mies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their ene­mies. ¹⁵ Whith­er­so­ever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly dis­tressed. ¹⁶ Nev­er­the­less the LORD raised up judges, which deliv­ered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. deliv­ered: Heb. saved ¹⁷ And yet they would not hear­ken unto their judges, but they went a whor­ing after other gods, and bowed them­selves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obey­ing the com­mand­ments of the LORD; but they did not so. ¹⁸ And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and deliv­ered them out of the hand of their ene­mies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groan­ings by rea­son of them that oppressed them and vexed them. ¹⁹ And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and cor­rupted them­selves more than their fathers, in fol­low­ing other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stub­born way. cor­rupted…: or, were cor­rupt ceased…: Heb. let noth­ing fall of their ²⁰ And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this peo­ple hath trans­gressed my covenant which I com­manded their fathers, and have not hear­kened unto my voice; ²¹ I also will not hence­forth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: ²² That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. ²³ There­fore the LORD left those nations, with­out dri­ving them out hastily; nei­ther deliv­ered he them into the hand of Joshua. left: or, suf­fered  

WP-Bible plu­gin Ki. 17)

Judg. 10:6–10Judg. 10:6–10
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
6 And the chil­dren of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the chil­dren of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and for­sook the LORD, and served not him. ⁷ And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the chil­dren of Ammon. ⁸ And that year they vexed and oppressed the chil­dren of Israel: eigh­teen years, all the chil­dren of Israel that were on the other side Jor­dan in the land of the Amor­ites, which is in Gilead. oppressed: Heb. crushed ⁹ More­over the chil­dren of Ammon passed over Jor­dan to fight also against Judah, and against Ben­jamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore dis­tressed. ¹⁰ And the chil­dren of Israel cried unto the LORD, say­ing, We have sinned against thee, both because we have for­saken our God, and also served Baalim.  

WP-Bible plu­gin “⁶And the chil­dren of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the chil­dren of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and for­sook the LORD, and served not him.

 ⁷And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the chil­dren of Ammon.

 ⁸And that year they vexed and oppressed the chil­dren of Israel: eigh­teen years, all the chil­dren of Israel that were on the other side Jor­dan in the land of the Amor­ites, which is in Gilead.

 ⁹More­over the chil­dren of Ammon passed over Jor­dan to fight also against Judah, and against Ben­jamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

 ¹⁰And the chil­dren of Israel cried unto the LORD, say­ing, We have sinned against thee, both because we have for­saken our God, and also served Baalim.”

For­get­ting God (1 Sam. 12:9–101 Sam. 12:9–10
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
9 And when they for­gat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sis­era, cap­tain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰ And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have for­saken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our ene­mies, and we will serve thee.  

WP-Bible plu­gin)

1 Sam. 12:9–101 Sam. 12:9–10
Eng­lish: King James Ver­sion (1611) — KJV
9 And when they for­gat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sis­era, cap­tain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰ And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have for­saken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our ene­mies, and we will serve thee.  

WP-Bible plu­gin “⁹And when they for­gat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sis­era, cap­tain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

 ¹⁰And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have for­saken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our ene­mies, and we will serve thee.”

12. Hypocrisy (Mt. 23)

See Pur­poses of Affliction

See Ways We Can Be Afflicted

Exam­ples of Suf­fer­ing Affliction