Ezra 3:3

3:3 They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, ¹  and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings.

Nehemiah 6:9

6:9 All of them were wanting ²  to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.”

So now, strengthen my hands! ³ 

Isaiah 35:3-4

35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,

steady the knees that shake! ⁴ 

35:4 Tell those who panic, ⁵ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ⁷  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ⁸  This ⁹  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

² tn The participle has a desiderative nuance here, describing the desire of the subject and not necessarily the actual outcome. See also v. 14.

³ tn The statement “So now, strengthen my hands” is frequently understood as an implied prayer, but is taken differently by NAB (“But instead, I now redoubled my efforts”).

⁴ tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”

⁵ tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

⁶ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

⁷ tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

⁸ tn Heb “by saying these things.”

⁹ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

¹⁰ tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”