Ezekiel 7:17
in Ezekiel 7Every hand will go limp, and every knee will turn to water.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
KJV
All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
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This verse in Ezekiel 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(Verse 17.) All hands will be dissolved, and all knees will flow with water. And they will gird themselves with sackcloth, and terror will cover them. For knees flowing with water, Seventy have moved, thighs are polluted with moisture. But when all are trembling, and fleeing to the mountains, all hands will be dissolved, and no one will be able to resist the enemies, and with the magnitude of fear, urine will pollute the knees: and the bladder will not be able to contain the flowing waters. They will gird themselves with sackcloth, and trembling will possess all things.
This site's exposition
Every hand will go limp
on Ezekiel 7:17-19
Terror is drawn in the body: “Every hand will go limp, and every knee will turn to water,” with sackcloth, shame and shaved heads. They throw their silver into the streets, for “Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
All hands shall be feeble,.... No strength in them, to lay hold on weapons of war to defend themselves, or fight the enemy; no heart nor courage in them, to go forth and meet him; and even afraid to lift up their voice in mourning, lest they should be heard, and pursued, and taken: and all knees shall be weak as water; tremble and beat one against another, for fear of the enemy; or, "shall flow with water,'' as the Targum; either with sweat or urine, which are sometimes both caused by fear.
Note, It is folly for the strong man to glory in his strength, for God can soon weaken it. They shall be deprived of all their hopes and shall abandon themselves to despair (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
All knees shall be weak as water - Calmet understands this curiously: La frayeur dont on sera saisi, fera qu’on ne pourra retenir son urine. D’autres l’expliquent d’une autre souillure plus honteuse. I believe him to be nearly about right. St. Jerome is exactly the same: Pavoris magnitudine, urina polluet genua, nec valebit profluentes aquas vesica prohibere. This and other malretentions are often the natural effect of extreme fear or terror.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיָּדַ֖יִם | haiyadayim | the pairs of hands | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| תִּרְפֶּ֑ינָה | tirpeinah | they will drop | H7503 → | 46 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בִּרְכַּ֖יִם | birkayim | knees | H1290 → | 25 times |
| תֵּלַ֥כְנָה | telakhnah | they will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| מָּֽיִם׃ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיָּדַ֖יִםthe pairs of hands
haiyadayimH3027 →1618 times
תִּרְפֶּ֑ינָהthey will drop
tirpeinahH7503 →46 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
בִּרְכַּ֖יִםknees
birkayimH1290 →25 times
תֵּלַ֥כְנָהthey will go
telakhnahH1980 →1546 times
מָּֽיִם׃water
mayimH4325 →581 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 12:12Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees.
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!
- Ezekiel 21:7
And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 12:3
Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
- Job 4:3–4
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14
And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.
- Isaiah 35:3
Through
Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:43
The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 4:31
For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to…
- Jeremiah 50:43
Through
Ezekiel 22:14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 17:24
Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make…
- Ezekiel 17:24
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.