Isaiah 35:3-4

35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,

steady the knees that shake! ¹ 

35:4 Tell those who panic, ² 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ³ 

Hebrews 10:24

10:24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, ⁴ 

Hebrews 12:12-13

12:12 Therefore, strengthen ⁵  your listless hands and your weak knees, ⁶  12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, ⁷  so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

[35:3]  ¹ tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”

[35:4]  ² tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ³ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[10:24]  ⁴ tn Grk “let us consider one another for provoking of love and good deeds.”

[12:12]  ⁵ tn Or “straighten.”

[12:12]  ⁶ 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).

[12:13]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”