Exodus 17:12
New International Version
When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

New Living Translation
Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.

English Standard Version
But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Berean Standard Bible
When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.

King James Bible
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

New King James Version
But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

New American Standard Bible
And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set.

NASB 1995
But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

NASB 1977
But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

Legacy Standard Bible
But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

Amplified Bible
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.

Christian Standard Bible
When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.

American Standard Version
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the hands of Moshe were weary and they took a stone and they placed it under him and he sat down upon it and Ahron and Khur were upholding his hands, one from here and one from there, and his hands were in steadfastness until the sun had set.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But the hands of Moses were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it; and Aaron and Or supported his hands one on this side and the other on that, and the hands of Moses were supported till the going down of the sun.

Contemporary English Version
After a while, his arms were so tired that Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to sit on. Then they stood beside him and supported his arms in the same position until sunset.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Moses' hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass that his hands were not weary until sunset.

English Revised Version
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Eventually, Moses' hands felt heavy. So Aaron and Hur took a rock, put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron held up one hand, and Hur held up the other. His hands remained steady until sunset.

Good News Translation
When Moses' arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for him to sit on, while they stood beside him and held up his arms, holding them steady until the sun went down.

International Standard Version
When Moses' hands became heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, and so his hands were steady until the sun went down.

JPS Tanakh 1917
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Literal Standard Version
And the hands of Moses [are] heavy, and they take a stone and set [it] under him, and he sits on it, and Aaron and Hur have taken hold on his hands, one on this [side] and one on that [side]; and his hands are steadfast until the going in of the sun;

Majority Standard Bible
When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.

New American Bible
Moses’ hands, however, grew tired; so they took a rock and put it under him and he sat on it. Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady until sunset.

NET Bible
When the hands of Moses became heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other, and so his hands were steady until the sun went down.

New Revised Standard Version
But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set.

New Heart English Bible
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. His hands were steady until sunset.

Webster's Bible Translation
But Moses's hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat upon it: and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

World English Bible
But Moses’ hands were heavy; so they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. His hands were steady until sunset.

Young's Literal Translation
And the hands of Moses are heavy, and they take a stone, and set it under him, and he sitteth on it: and Aaron and Hur have taken hold on his hands, on this side one, and on that one, and his hands are stedfast till the going in of the sun;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Defeat of the Amalekites
11As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed. 12When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his army with the sword.…

Cross References
Exodus 17:11
As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.

Exodus 17:13
So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his army with the sword.

Exodus 24:14
And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute can go to them."

Joshua 8:26
Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai.

Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!


Treasury of Scripture

But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Moses' hands

Matthew 26:40-45
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? …

Mark 14:37-40
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? …

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

stayed up his hands

Psalm 35:3
Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

2 Corinthians 1:11
Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

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Exodus 17
1. The people murmur for water to Rephidim
6. God send them for water to the rock in Horeb
7. The place is called Massah and Meribah
8. Amalek is overcome by Joshua, while Moses holds up his hand
14. Amalek is doomed to destruction; and Moses builds the altar Jehovah-nissi














(12) Moses' hands were heavy.--Moses writes with a clear remembrance of his feelings at the time. His hands, long stretched to heaven, grew weary, "heavy," feeble; he could no longer raise them up, much less stretch them out, by his own muscular energy. They sank down, and dropped by his sides. If the battle was not to be lost, it was necessary to find some remedy. Apparently, Aaron and Hur bethought themselves of an effective remedy, none being suggested by Moses.

They took a stone.--Partly to give him a certain amount of rest, but, perhaps, mainly to enable them the better to sustain his hands. The fact is one of those "little" ones, which none but one engaged in the transactions would have been likely to have been acquainted with. (See "Introduction," ? 5)

Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands.--Left to himself, Moses had become exhausted both mentally and bodily, and when his hands dropped, had ceased to pray. Sustained physically by his two companions, his mind recovered itself, and was able to renew its supplications and continue them. The result was the victory.

Verse 12. - But Moses' hands were heavy. Moses, no doubt, held the rod alternately with one hand and the other, until both were so tired that he could hold them up no longer. It is this natural weariness which is expressed by the words - "his hands were heavy." When Aaron and Hut perceived this, they brought a stone for him to sit on, and then, standing one on either side of him, alternately supported his hands until the sun set and the battle was over. To reward the faith and perseverance of the three, God gave Israel in the end a complete victory.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When Moses’
מֹשֶׁה֙ (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

hands
וִידֵ֤י (wî·ḏê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - fdc
Strong's 3027: A hand

grew heavy,
כְּבֵדִ֔ים (kə·ḇê·ḏîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 3515: Heavy

they took
וַיִּקְחוּ־ (way·yiq·ḥū-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

a stone
אֶ֛בֶן (’e·ḇen)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 68: A stone

and put
וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ (way·yā·śî·mū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

it under him,
תַחְתָּ֖יו (ṯaḥ·tāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of

and he sat
וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב (way·yê·šeḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

on it.
עָלֶ֑יהָ (‘ā·le·hā)
Preposition | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Then Aaron
וְאַהֲרֹ֨ן (wə·’a·hă·rōn)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 175: Aaron -- an elder brother of Moses

and Hur
וְח֜וּר (wə·ḥūr)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2354: Hur -- four Israelites, also a Midianite

held
תָּֽמְכ֣וּ (tā·mə·ḵū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 8551: To sustain, to obtain, keep fast, to help, follow close

his hands up,
בְיָדָ֗יו (ḇə·yā·ḏāw)
Preposition-b | Noun - fdc | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

one
מִזֶּ֤ה (miz·zeh)
Preposition-m | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

on each
אֶחָד֙ (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

side,
אֶחָ֔ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

so that his hands
יָדָ֛יו (yā·ḏāw)
Noun - fdc | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

remained
וַיְהִ֥י (way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

steady
אֱמוּנָ֖ה (’ĕ·mū·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 530: Firmness, steadfastness, fidelity

until
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

the sun
הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ (haš·šā·meš)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 8121: The sun, the east, a ray, a notched battlement

went down.
בֹּ֥א (bō)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go


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OT Law: Exodus 17:12 But Moses' hands were heavy (Exo. Ex)
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