'Hand' in the Bible

He who sends a message by the hand of a foolCuts off his own feet (sabotages himself) and drinks the violence [it brings on himself as a consequence].

Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man,So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who remains unaffected by its wisdom].

The lazy person buries his hand in the dish [losing opportunity after opportunity];It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

Whoever attempts to restrain her [criticism] might as well try to stop the wind,And grasps oil with his right hand.

If you have foolishly exalted yourself,Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

She opens and extends her hand to the poor,And she reaches out her filled hands to the needy.

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.

For when those riches are lost in bad investments and he becomes the father of a son, then there is nothing in his hand [for the support of the child].

As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came; and he will take away nothing from all his labor that he can carry in his hand.

It is good that you take hold of one thing (righteousness) and also not let go of the other (wisdom); for the one who fears and worships God [with awe-filled reverence] will come forth with both of them.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.

A wise man’s heart turns him toward the right [which is the way of blessing], but a fool’s heart turns him toward the left [which is the way of condemnation].

“Let his left hand be under my headAnd his right hand embrace me.”

“My beloved extended his hand through the opening [of the door],And my feelings were aroused for him.

(The Bridegroom)“Why should you gaze at the Shulammite,As at the dance of the two armies?“How beautiful are your feet in sandals,O prince’s daughter!The curves of your hips are like jewels,The work of the hands of an artist.

“Let his left hand be under my headAnd his right hand embrace me.”

“And I will turn My hand against you,And will [thoroughly] purge away your dross as with lyeAnd remove all your tin (impurity).

hand mirrors, [fine linen] undergarments, headbands, and veils [covering the entire body].

Therefore the anger of the Lord has burned against His people,And He has stretched out His hand against them and has struck them down.And the mountains trembled, and their dead bodies lay like rubbish in the middle of the streets.In spite of all this God’s anger is not turned away,But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.

For in this way the Lord spoke to me with His strong hand [upon me] and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people [behaving as they do], saying,

The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn awayBut His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows;For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,And every mouth is speaking foolishness.In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn awayBut His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

They slice off [in discord] what is on the right hand but are still hungry,And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;Each eats the flesh of his own arm.

[The tribe of] Manasseh devours [the tribe of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,And together they are against Judah (the southern kingdom, the house of David).In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn awayBut His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Nothing remains but to crouch among the captivesOr fall [dead] among the slain [on the battlefield].In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away,But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger [against Israel],The staff in whose hand is My indignation and fury [against Israel’s disobedience]!

“As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,Whose carved images were greater and more feared than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

For the Assyrian king has said,“I have done this by the power of my [own] hand and by my wisdom,For I have understanding and skill.I have removed the boundaries of the peoplesAnd have plundered their treasures;Like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.

“My hand has found the wealth of the people like a nest,And as one gathers eggs that are abandoned, so I have gathered all the earth;And there was not one that flapped its wing, or that opened its beak and chirped.”

And the nursing child will [safely] play over the hole of the cobra,And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den [and not be hurt].

Then it will happen on that day that the LordWill again acquire with His hand a second timeThe remnant of His people, who will remain,From Assyria, from [Lower] Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush (Ethiopia), from Elam [in Persia], from Shinar [Babylonia], from Hamath [in Aram],And from the coastlands bordering the [Mediterranean] Sea.

And the Lord will utterly destroyThe tongue of the Sea of Egypt;And with His scorching windHe will wave His hand over the River;He will strike and divide it into seven channelsAnd make [it possible for] people [to] walk over in sandals.

Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain,Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice,Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles.

Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!It will come as destruction from the Almighty (All Sufficient One—Invincible God)!

This is the plan [of God] decided for the whole earth [regarded as conquered and put under tribute by Assyria]; and this is the hand [of God] that is stretched out over all the nations.

For the Lord of hosts has decided and planned, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”

“And I will hand over the Egyptians to a hard and cruel master,And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts.

In that day the Egyptians will become like [helpless] women, and they will tremble and be frightened because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He is going to wave over them.

“And I will clothe him with your tunic [of distinction]And tie your sash securely around him.I will entrust him with your authority;He will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

He has stretched out His hand over the sea,He has shaken the kingdoms;The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and her fortresses [like Tyre and Sidon].

For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain [Zion],And Moab will be trampled down in his placeAs straw is trampled down in the [filthy] water of a manure pile.

Though Your hand is lifted up [to strike], O Lord, the wicked do not see it.Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame;Indeed, let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them.

Listen carefully, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent [the Assyrian];Like a tempest of hail, a disastrous storm,Like a tempest of mighty overflowing waters,He has cast it down to the earth with His hand.

For dill is not threshed with a sharp threshing sledge,Nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin;But dill is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod.

Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Now the Egyptians are men and not God,And their horses are flesh and not spirit;And the Lord will stretch out His hand,And he (Egypt) who helps will stumble,And he (Judah) who is helped will fall,And all of them will perish together.

He who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,Who rejects gain from fraud and from oppression,Who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes,Who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshedAnd shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil;

The Lord has cast the lot for them,And His hand has divided and apportioned Edom to the wild beasts by measuring-line.They will possess it forever;From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Listen carefully, you rely on the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.

nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will most certainly rescue us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations [ever] rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad [in Aram]? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they rescued Samaria from my hand?

Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their land from my hand, that [you should think that] the Lord would rescue Jerusalem from my hand?’”

“You shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.

Now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and fully realize that You alone, Lord, are God.”

I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city [Jerusalem].”’

“For Sheol cannot praise or thank You,Death cannot praise You and rejoice in You;Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,And call out to her, that her time of compulsory service in warfare is finished,That her wickedness has been taken away [since her punishment is sufficient],That she has received from the Lord’s handDouble [punishment] for all her sins.”

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand],And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,And weighed the mountains in a balanceAnd the hills in a pair of scales?

‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;Do not be afraid, for I am your God.I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’

“For I the Lord your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord],Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

So that they may see and know,And consider and understand together,That the hand of the Lord has done this,That the Holy One of Israel has created it.

“I am the Lord, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose],I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You,And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel],As a light to the nations (Gentiles),

“Even from eternity I am He,And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;I act, and who can revoke or reverse it?”

“One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;And another will name himself after Jacob;And another will write on his hand, ‘I am the Lord’s,’And be called by the [honorable] name of Israel.

That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?”

This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia],Whose right hand I have heldTo subdue nations before him,And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them];To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

“I was angry with My people,I profaned [Judah] My inheritanceAnd gave them into your hand [Babylon].You showed them no mercy;You made your yoke very heavy on the aged.

“My hand founded and established the earth,And My right hand spread out the heavens;When I call to them, they stand together [in obedience to carry out My decrees].

He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,In the shadow of His hand He has kept Me hidden;And He has made Me a sharpened arrow,In His quiver He has hidden Me.

This is what the Lord God says,“Listen carefully, I will lift up My hand to the [Gentile] nationsAnd set up My banner to the peoples;And they will bring your sons in the fold of their garments,And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?When I called, why was there no one to answer?Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?Or have I no power to rescue?Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers into a desert;Their fish stink because there is no waterAnd die of thirst.

Listen carefully, all you who kindle your own fire [devising your own man-made plan of salvation],Who surround yourselves with torches,Walk by the light of your [self-made] fireAnd among the torches that you have set ablaze.But this you will have from My hand:You will lie down in [a place of] torment.

I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the [renewed] heavens and lay the foundations of the [renewed] earth, and to say to Zion (Jerusalem), ‘You are My people.’”

Wake yourself up! Wake yourself up! Stand up, O Jerusalem,You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath,You who have drunk the cup of staggering and intoxication to the dregs [leaving only sediment].

There is no one to guide her among all the sons she has borne,Nor is there anyone to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

So says your Lord, the Lord, who is also your GodWho pleads the cause of His people,“Listen carefully, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering and intoxication,The cup of My wrath;You shall never drink it again.

Yet the Lord was willingTo crush Him, causing Him to suffer;If He would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin],He shall see His [spiritual] offspring,He shall prolong His days,And the will (good pleasure) of the Lord shall succeed and prosper in His hand.

“For you will spread out to the right and to the left;And your descendants will take possession of nationsAnd will inhabit deserted cities.

“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,And the son of man who takes hold of it,Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

“Behind the door and the doorpostYou have set up your [pagan] symbol;Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,And have gone up and made your bed wide.And you have made a [new] agreement for yourself with the adulterers,You have loved their bed,You have looked [with passion] on their manhood.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so shortThat it cannot save,Nor His ear so impairedThat it cannot hear.

You will also be [considered] a crown of glory and splendor in the hand of the Lord,And a royal diadem [exceedingly beautiful] in the hand of your God.

The Lord has sworn [an oath] by His right hand and by His mighty arm,“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies,Nor will [the invading] foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”

Who caused His glorious arm and infinite power to go at the right hand of Moses,Dividing the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,

Yet, O Lord, You are our Father;We are the clay, and You our Potter,And we all are the work of Your hand.

“For all these things My hand has made,So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the Lord.“But to this one I will look [graciously],To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands.

When you see this, your heart will rejoice;Your bones will flourish like new grass.And the [powerful] hand of the Lord will be revealed to His servants,But His indignation will be toward His enemies.

Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,“Behold (hear Me), I have put My words in your mouth.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“They will thoroughly gather like [fruit on] a vine what is left of Israel;Pass your hand [over the vine] again and again [Babylon, tool of destruction] like a grape gatherer,Over the branches [stripping the tendrils off the vine].”

“Their houses shall be turned over to others,Their fields and their wives together;For I will stretch out My handAgainst the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord.

“You have abandoned (rejected) Me,” says the Lord.“You keep going backward.Therefore I shall stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;I am tired of delaying [your punishment]!

I did not sit with the group of those who celebrate,Nor did I rejoice;I sat alone because Your [powerful] hand was upon me,For You had filled me with indignation [at their sin].

And you will, through your own fault, let go of your [grip on your] inheritanceThat I gave you;And I will make you serve your enemiesIn a land which you do not know;For you have kindled a fire in My angerWhich will burn forever.

But the vessel that he was making from clay was spoiled by the potter’s hand; so he made it over, reworking it and making it into another pot that seemed good to him.

“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” says the Lord. “Look carefully, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

For thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; they will fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he will carry them away to Babylon as captives and will slaughter them with the sword.

Moreover, I will hand over all the riches of this city, all the result of its labor, all its precious things; even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will hand over to their enemies, and they will plunder them, and take them away and carry them to Babylon.