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Ezekiel 7:17

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 7:17 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
Ezekiel 7:17 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 7

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
14They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goeth to the battle; for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
15The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword: and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
16But those of them that escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity.
17All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
18They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
19They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it hath been the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
20As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations [and] their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it unto them as an unclean thing.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“All hands shall be feeble, &c.] 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.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“shall be weak as water--literally, "shall go (as) waters"; incapable of resistance (Jos 7:5; Psa 22:14; Isa 13:7).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“hands: Eze 21:7; Isa 13:7, Isa 13:8; Jer 6:24; Heb 12:12 be weak as water: Heb. go into water Ezekiel 7:18”
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Related study paths

Read Ezekiel 7 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification