'Heavy' in the Bible

Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I am not a man of words (eloquent, fluent), neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and tongue.”

Then the Lord did so. And there came heavy and oppressive swarms of [bloodsucking] insects into the house of Pharaoh and his servants’ houses; in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted and ruined because of the [great invasion of] insects.

hear this: tomorrow about this time I will send a very heavy and dreadful hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set.

You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you [to bear]; you cannot do it alone.

They may assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting to keep an obligation, but they shall do no [heavy or difficult] work. Thus you shall deal with the Levites concerning their obligations.”

I am not able to carry all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the [city] gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

Then the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He caused them to be dumbfounded and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.

When the men of Ashdod saw what had happened, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.”

So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel; let it be returned to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy (severe) there.

“Your father made our yoke (burden) heavy; so now lighten the hard labor and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, and we will serve you.”

The young men who had grown up with him answered, “This is what you should say to this people who told you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but as for you, make our yoke lighter’—say this to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins [and my reign will be even more severe].

And now, whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

and spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but as for me, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another woman? For I have been sent to you [by God] with a harsh message.

“Your father [King Solomon] made our yoke hard (heavy, difficult); so now lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

The young men who grew up with him told him, “Tell the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us’: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!

Now my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, but I will add [more weight] to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions (extremely painful scourges).’”

He spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”

So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the twentieth [day] of the ninth month, and all the people sat in the open square in front of the house of God, trembling because of [the seriousness of] this matter and because of the heavy rain.

But there are many people and it is the season of heavy rain; so we are unable to stand outside. Nor can the task be done in a day or two, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.

There were also others who were saying, “We have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards for the [Persian] king’s [heavy] tax.

Now the following were prepared for each day: one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls (poultry) were prepared for me; and in intervals of ten days all sorts of wine was provided in abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

“Behold, I will not make you afraid or terrified of me [for I am only mortal and not God],Nor should any pressure from me weigh heavily upon you.

For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy upon me;My energy (vitality, strength) was drained away as with the burning heat of summer. Selah.

For my iniquities have gone over my head [like the waves of a flood];As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

You brought us into the net;You laid a heavy burden [of servitude] on us.

Like a club and a sword and a piercing arrowIs a man who testifies falsely against his neighbor (acquaintance).

Like one who takes off a garment in cold weather, or like [a reactive, useless mixture of] vinegar on soda,Is he who [thoughtlessly] sings [joyful] songs to a heavy heart.

Stone is heavy and the sand weighty,But a fool’s [unreasonable] wrath is heavier and more burdensome than both of them.

(The Shulammite Bride)“I was asleep, but my heart was awake.A voice [in my dream]! My beloved was knocking:‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,My dove, my perfect one!For my head is drenched with the [heavy night] dew;My hair [is covered] with the dampness of the night.’

“Make the heart of this people insensitive,Their ears dull,And their eyes dim,Otherwise they might see with their eyes,Hear with their ears,Understand with their hearts,And return and be healed.”

A [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South):Through a land of trouble and anguish,From where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent,They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeysAnd their treasures on the humps of camels,To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.

“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.

To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],The oil of joy instead of mourning,The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].”

“So let us know and become personally acquainted with Him; let us press on to know and understand fully the [greatness of the] Lord [to honor, heed, and deeply cherish Him].His appearing is prepared and is as certain as the dawn,And He will come to us [in salvation] like the [heavy] rain,Like the spring rain watering the earth.”

But they refused to listen and pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder [stiffening themselves in resistance] and stopped up their ears.

For this nation’s heart has grown hard,And with their ears they hardly hear,And they have [tightly] closed their eyes,Otherwise they would see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart, and turn [to Me]And I would heal them [spiritually].’

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

The scribes and Pharisees tie up heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter].

And again He came back and found them sleeping, because their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know how to answer Him.

saying, “Men, I sense [after careful thought and observation] that this voyage will certainly be a disaster and with great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

and [he commanded] the rest to follow, some on [floating] planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it was that all of them were brought safely to land.

“For the heart (the understanding, the soul) of this people has become dull (calloused),And with their ears they scarcely hear,And they have shut their eyes [to the truth];Otherwise they might see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart and return [to Me],And I would heal them.”’

And giant hailstones, as heavy as a talent, fell from the sky on the people; and people reviled and spoke abusively of God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so very great.