Ezekiel 21:7

21:7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone ¹  will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ ²  Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Isaiah 13:7-8

13:7 For this reason all hands hang limp, ³ 

every human heart loses its courage. ⁴ 

13:8 They panic –

cramps and pain seize hold of them

like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.

They look at one another in astonishment;

their faces are flushed red. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 6:24

6:24 The people cry out, ⁶  “We have heard reports about them!

We have become helpless with fear! ⁷ 

Anguish grips us,

agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!

Hebrews 12:12

12:12 Therefore, strengthen ⁸  your listless hands and your weak knees, ⁹ 

[21:7]  ¹ tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”

[21:7]  ² sn This expression depicts in a very vivid way how they will be overcome with fear. See the note on the same phrase in 7:17.

[13:7]  ³ tn Heb “drop”; KJV “be faint”; ASV “be feeble”; NAB “fall helpless.”

[13:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “melts” (so NAB).

[13:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.

[6:24]  ⁶ tn These words are not in the text, but, from the context, someone other than God is speaking and is speaking for and to the people (either Jeremiah or the people themselves). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:24]  ⁷ tn Or “We have lost our strength to do battle”; Heb “Our hands hang limp [or helpless at our sides].” According to BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Qal.2, this idiom is used figuratively for losing heart or energy. The best example of its figurative use of loss of strength or the feeling of helplessness is in Ezek 21:12 where it appears in the context of the heart (courage) melting, the spirit sinking, and the knees becoming like water. For other examples compare 2 Sam 4:1; Zeph 3:16. In Neh 6:9 it is used literally of the builders “dropping their hands from the work” out of fear. The words “with fear” are supplied in the translation because they are implicit in the context.

[12:12]  ⁸ tn Or “straighten.”

[12:12]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Isa 35:3. Strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees refers to the readers’ need for renewed resolve and fresh strength in their struggles (cf. Heb 10:36-39; 12:1-3).