'Weak' in the Bible

Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.

Animals that are blind or fractured or mutilated, or have a sore or a running wound or an itch or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord nor make an offering of them by fire on the altar to the Lord.

See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many,

Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords (tendons) that have not been dried, then I will be weak and be like any [other] man.”

He said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes that have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any [other] man.”

Then [finally] he told her everything that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never been used on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any [other] man.”

Today I am weak, though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer [Joab] in accordance with his wickedness!”

I will strike while he is weary and exhausted, and terrify him; and all the people with him will flee [in terror]. Then I will attack the king alone,

But as for you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, [O God,] strengthen my hands.

“Behold, you have admonished and instructed many,And you have strengthened weak hands.

Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail);Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.

Blessed [by God’s grace and compassion] is he who considers the helpless;The Lord will save him in the day of trouble.

He will have compassion on the poor and needy,And he will save the lives of the needy.

Vindicate the weak and fatherless;Do justice and maintain the rights of the afflicted and destitute.

My knees are unsteady from fasting;And my flesh is gaunt and without fatness.

The spirit of a man sustains him in sickness,But as for a broken spirit, who can bear it?

Stop regarding man, whose breath [of life] is in his nostrils [for so little time];For why should he be esteemed?

“All of them will respond [tauntingly] and say to you,‘You have become as weak as we are.You have become like us.

Encourage the exhausted, and make staggering knees firm.

“He will not be disheartened or crushed [in spirit];[He will persevere] until He has established justice on the earth;And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

“For the moth will eat them like a garment,And the worm will eat them like wool.But My righteousness and justice [faithfully promised] will exist forever,And My salvation to all generations.”

Thus says the Lord,“Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind,Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength,And whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord.

“A sword against their horses and against their chariotsAnd against all the foreign troops that are in her midst,And they will become [as weak and defenseless as] women!A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!

The mighty warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight;They remain in their strongholds.Their strength and power have failed;They are becoming [weak and helpless] like women.Their dwelling places are set on fire;The bars on her gates are broken.

All hands will hang limp and all knees will be as weak as water.

“How weakened by longing and lust is your heart (mind),” says the Lord God, “while you do all these things, the actions of a bold and brazen prostitute.

And when they say to you, ‘Why do you sigh and groan?’ you shall answer, ‘Because of the news that is coming; and every heart will melt and all hands will be frail, and every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,’ says the Lord God.”

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Because your heart is lifted upAnd you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,I sit in the seat of the godsIn the heart of the seas’;Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—

You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence.

“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment.

Because you push with side and shoulder, and gore with your horns all those that have become weak and sick until you have scattered them away,

So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my normal appearance turned to a deathly pale, and I grew weak and faint [with fright].

Beat your plowshares into swordsAnd your pruning hooks into spears;Let the weak say, “I am strong!”

Behold, your people are [as weak and helpless as] women in your midst!The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies;Fire consumes the bars across your gates.

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but [only] those who are sick.

Keep actively watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

When Jesus heard this, He said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but [only] those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners [who recognize their sin and humbly seek forgiveness].”

Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

In everything I showed you [by example] that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed [and brings greater joy] to give than to receive.’”

As for the one whose faith is weak, accept him [into your fellowship], but not for [the purpose of] quarreling over his opinions.

Now we who are strong [in our convictions and faith] ought to [patiently] put up with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not just please ourselves.

[This is] because the foolishness of God [is not foolishness at all and] is wiser than men [far beyond human comprehension], and the weakness of God is stronger than men [far beyond the limits of human effort].

But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty].

We are [regarded as] fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are highly esteemed, but we are dishonored.

However, not all [believers] have this knowledge. But some, being accustomed [throughout their lives] to [thinking of] the idol until now [as real and living], still eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and because their conscience is weak, it is defiled (guilty, ashamed).

Only be careful that this liberty of yours [this power to choose] does not somehow become a stumbling block [that is, a temptation to sin] to the weak [in conscience].

For if someone sees you, a person having knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, then if he is weak, will he not be encouraged to eat things sacrificed to idols [and violate his own convictions]?

For through your knowledge (spiritual maturity) this weak man is ruined [that is, he suffers in his spiritual life], the brother for whom Christ died.

And when you sin against the brothers and sisters in this way and wound their weak conscience [by confusing them], you sin against Christ.

To the weak I became [as the] weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means [in any and every way] save some [by leading them to faith in Jesus Christ].

That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason why many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep [in death].

But quite the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are [absolutely] necessary;

for they say, “His letters are weighty and forceful and impressive, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible [of no account].”

To my shame, I must say, we have been too weak [in comparison to those pseudo-apostles who take advantage of you].But in whatever anyone else dares to boast—I am speaking foolishly—I also dare to boast.

Who is weak, and I do not feel [his] weakness? Who is made to sin, and I am not on fire [with sorrow and concern]?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that reveal my weakness [the things by which I am made weak in the eyes of my opponents].

So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].

since you seek [forensic] proof that Christ is speaking in and through me. He is not weak or ineffective in dealing with you, but powerful within you.

For even though He was crucified in weakness [yielding Himself], yet He lives [resurrected] by the power of God [His Father]. For we too are weak in Him [as He was humanly weak], yet we are alive and well [in fellowship] with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

We are glad when we are weak [since God’s power comes freely through us], but you [by comparison] are strong. We also pray for this, that you be made complete [fully restored, growing and maturing in godly character and spirit—pleasing your heavenly Father by the life you live].

Now, however, since you have come to know [the true] God [through personal experience], or rather to be known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and worthless elemental principles [of religions and philosophies], to which you want to be enslaved all over again?

We [earnestly] urge you, believers, admonish those who are out of line [the undisciplined, the unruly, the disorderly], encourage the timid [who lack spiritual courage], help the [spiritually] weak, be very patient with everyone [always controlling your temper].

always learning and listening to anybody who will teach them, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.