Associated in Scripture with various activities, the hand symbolises particularly power and strength. Jesus Christ's hands often bring healing and blessing. Passages gathered in the Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment."
Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun: blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen.
Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing.
Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands— yes, establish the work of our hands!
Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.
Moses said to him, "When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD's.
then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple—
then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple—
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. Now Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had placed it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it, knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,
At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You.
Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.
Then Jehoiada brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, presented him with the Testimony, and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and declared, "Long live the king!"
You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?"
For this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and rejoiced over the land of Israel with a heart full of contempt,
this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will assemble their forces in the center of this city.
Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!"
Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, "Are You for us or for our enemies?"
The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,
And the guards stood with weapons in hand surrounding the king by the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
He stationed all the troops, with their weapons in hand, surrounding the king by the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, saying, "Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with a weapon of destruction in hand." And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
"All this," said David, "all the details of this plan, the LORD has made clear to me in writing by His hand upon me."
At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,
This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write.
I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.
Taking her by the hand, Jesus said, "Talitha koum!" which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"
For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown,
The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.
Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man's feet and ankles were made strong.
Peter took her by the hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her to them alive.
They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth—the work of human hands.
For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands."
They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place and will not be quenched.'
because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out upon this place and will not be quenched.'
At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.
Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.
Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand.
And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand—and brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh's head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
Heman's kinsman was Asaph, who served at his right hand: Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea,
The daughters of kings are among your honored women; the queen stands at your right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir.
"As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.
And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon's belly.
they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin):
Then I will strike the bow from your left hand and dash down the arrows from your right hand.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand. For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,
Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.
Now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and who made for Yourself a name renowned to this day, we have sinned; we have acted wickedly.
No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.
Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.
Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.
Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken, and they shall declare, "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands."
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood, " he said. "You bear the responsibility."
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
And when they ask, 'Why are you groaning?' you are to say, 'Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.' Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD."
For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, "Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished." But now, my God, strengthen my hands.
at the sound of the galloping hooves of stallions, the rumbling of chariots, and the clatter of their wheels. The fathers will not turn back for their sons; their hands will hang limp.
Every hand will go limp, and every knee will turn to water. They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp.
If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever..."
He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.
He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father's iniquity. He will surely live.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.
They pledged to send their wives away, and for their guilt they presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger,
He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.
A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.
But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, "Place your hand under my thigh,
So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
When he left there, he found Jehonadab son of Rechab, who was coming to meet him. Jehu greeted him and asked, "Is your heart as true to mine as my heart is to yours?" "It is!" Jehonadab replied. "If it is," said Jehu, "give me your hand." So he gave him his hand, and Jehu helped him into his chariot,
For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east; they are soothsayers like the Philistines; they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.
And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?"
When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?"
When the woman came to Saul and saw how distraught he was, she said to him, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice. I took my life in my hands and did as you told me.
Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
At sunset, all who were ill with various diseases were brought to Jesus, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them.
Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!"
Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.
While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. "My daughter has just died," he said. "But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live."
and pleaded with Him urgently, "My little daughter is near death. Please come and place Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live."
So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them.
Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him. So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the man's ears. Then He spit and touched the man's tongue.
Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God.
Now people were bringing the little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.
Then the little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. And the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." And after He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there.
When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe."
For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe."
He was delivered up by God's set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some of the fire that was among them. And he put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who received it and went out. (The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.)