New English Translation
Isaiah 13:7
7For this reason all hands hang limp, every human heart loses its courage.
Isaiah 13:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:
- New International Version (NIV)Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man’s heart will melt,
Context of Isaiah 13:7
5They come from a distant land, from the horizon. It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, coming to destroy the whole earth. 6Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. For this reason all hands hang limp, every human heart loses its courage. 8They 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. 9Look, the Lord’s day of judgment is coming; it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, destroying the earth and annihilating its sinners.
Read all of Isaiah 13Isaiah 13:7 word by word
עַל־כֵּ֖ן כָּל־יָדַ֣יִם תִּרְפֶּ֑ינָה וְכָל־לְבַ֥ב אֱנ֖וֹשׁ יִמָּס׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 13:7
- Isaiah 10:3What will you do on judgment day, when destruction arrives from a distant place? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- Isaiah 37:27Their residents are powerless; they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind.
- Isaiah 51:20Your children faint; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a snare. They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger, by the battle cry of your God.
- Jeremiah 50:43The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
- Ezekiel 7:17All of their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine.
- Ezekiel 21:7When 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 will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”
- Nahum 1:6No one can withstand his indignation! No one can resist his fierce anger! His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire, boulders are broken up as he approaches.
- Isaiah 19:1Here is a message about Egypt: Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud and approaches Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him; the Egyptians lose their courage.
- Exodus 15:15Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.
- Nahum 2:10Destruction, devastation, and desolation! Their hearts faint, their knees tremble, each stomach churns, each face turns pale!
Commentaries on Isaiah 13:7
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Therefore shall all hands be faint - This is designed to denote the consternation and alarm of the people. They would be so terrified and alarmed that they would have no courage, no hope, and no power to make resistance. They would abandon their plans of defense, and give themselves up to despair (compare Jeremiah 50:43: The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble; anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a Women in…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-18Verses 6-18 We have here the terrible desolation of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. Those who in the day of their peace were proud, and haughty, and terrible, are quite dispirited when trouble comes. Their faces shall be scorched with the flame. All comfort and hope shall fail. The stars of heaven shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened. Such expressions are often employed by the prophets, to describe the convulsions of governments. God…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. faint ... melt--So Jr 50:43; compare Jos 7:5. Babylon was taken by surprise on the night of Belshazzar's impious feast (Da 5:30). Hence the sudden fainting and melting of hearts.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries