Proverbs 24:10
New International Version
If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!

New Living Translation
If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

English Standard Version
If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

Berean Standard Bible
If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!

King James Bible
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

New King James Version
If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.

New American Standard Bible
If you show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress, Your strength is meager.

NASB 1995
If you are slack in the day of distress, Your strength is limited.

NASB 1977
If you are slack in the day of distress, Your strength is limited.

Legacy Standard Bible
If you are slack in the day of trouble, Your strength is in trouble.

Amplified Bible
If you are slack (careless) in the day of distress, Your strength is limited.

Christian Standard Bible
If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength is limited.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength is limited.

American Standard Version
If thou faint in the day of adversity, Thy strength is small.

Contemporary English Version
Don't give up and be helpless in times of trouble.

English Revised Version
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If you faint in a crisis, you are weak.

Good News Translation
If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed.

International Standard Version
If you grow weary when times are troubled, your strength is limited.

Majority Standard Bible
If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!

NET Bible
If you faint in the day of trouble, your strength is small!

New Heart English Bible
If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.

Webster's Bible Translation
If thou faintest in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.

World English Bible
If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
You have showed yourself weak in a day of adversity, "" Your power is restricted,

Young's Literal Translation
Thou hast shewed thyself weak in a day of adversity, Straitened is thy power,

Smith's Literal Translation
Wilt thou be discouraged in the day of straits thy strength is narrow.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
If thou lose hope being weary in the day of distress, thy strength shall be diminished.

Catholic Public Domain Version
If you despair, being weary in the day of anguish, your strength will be diminished.

New American Bible
Did you fail in a day of adversity, did your strength fall short?

New Revised Standard Version
If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength being small;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The wicked shall be driven away by evil in the day of affliction.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Affliction will drive the evil in the day of distress.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If thou faint in the day of adversity, Thy strength is small indeed.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
He shall be defiled in the evil day, and in the day of affliction, until he be utterly consumed.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Do not Envy
9A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men. 10If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength! 11Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.…

Cross References
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, / because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. / Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. / That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Hebrews 12:3-4
Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. / In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Galatians 6:9
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials / so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:3-5
Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; / perseverance, character; and character, hope. / And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

2 Timothy 2:3
Join me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. / Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. / For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Isaiah 40:29-31
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. / Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. / But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Psalm 27:1
Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?

Psalm 46:1-3
For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. / Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, / though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah

Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.


Treasury of Scripture

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

thou

1 Samuel 27:1
And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

Job 4:5
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

Isaiah 40:28-31
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding…

small

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Proverbs 24
1. Precepts and Warnings














If you faint
The Hebrew word for "faint" here is "רָפָה" (raphah), which can mean to relax, sink down, or let go. In the context of this verse, it suggests a failure to maintain one's resolve or courage. Historically, this term is used in various parts of the Old Testament to describe a lack of perseverance or a giving up in the face of adversity. From a conservative Christian perspective, this phrase challenges believers to examine their spiritual resilience. It calls for a steadfast faith that does not waver when trials come, echoing the New Testament exhortation to "stand firm" in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13).

in the day of distress
The phrase "day of distress" refers to times of trouble or adversity. The Hebrew word for "distress" is "צָרָה" (tsarah), which can denote affliction, anguish, or tribulation. This term is often used in the Old Testament to describe periods of intense difficulty, whether personal, communal, or national. In the historical context of ancient Israel, such days could include invasions, famines, or personal crises. For the modern believer, this phrase serves as a reminder that trials are an inevitable part of life. It encourages Christians to prepare spiritually for such times, drawing strength from their relationship with God and the community of faith.

how small is your strength!
The word "strength" in Hebrew is "כֹּחַ" (koach), which implies power, might, or vigor. This phrase is a rhetorical question that underscores the insufficiency of one's strength if it fails under pressure. In the biblical context, true strength is often depicted as reliance on God rather than on human ability alone. The historical and scriptural narrative consistently points to God as the source of strength for His people, as seen in verses like Isaiah 40:31, which promises renewed strength to those who hope in the Lord. From a conservative Christian viewpoint, this phrase is a call to cultivate a deep, abiding trust in God, recognizing that human strength is limited but divine strength is boundless. It inspires believers to seek God's empowerment through prayer, scripture, and the Holy Spirit, especially during challenging times.

(10) If thou faint in the day of adversity.--And prove unable to help thyself or others; an exhortation to courage (comp. Hebrews 12:12). A "more excellent way" is shown in the following verse.

Verse 10. - If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. The gnome seems to be unconnected with the preceding. There is a paronomasia between צָרָה (tsarah), "adversity," and צַר (tsar), "small," narrow, which is retained by Fleischer: "Si segnis fueris die angustiae, angustae sunt vires tuae." So we may say in English, "If thou faint in time of straitness, straitened is thy strength." If you fail, and succumb to anxiety or danger, instead of rising to meet the emergency, then you are but a weakling or a coward, and the strength which you seemed to possess and of which you boasted, perhaps, is nothing worth. Such a man hearkens not to the Sibyl's counsel (Virgil, 'AEneid,' 6:95) ?

"Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito,
Quam tua te fortuna sinet."
The LXX. again varies from the received text, "He shall be polluted in an evil day, and in a day of affliction, until he fail," or "die" (ἐκλίπῃ).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If you falter
הִ֭תְרַפִּיתָ (hiṯ·rap·pî·ṯā)
Verb - Hitpael - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7503: Sink, relax

in the day
בְּי֥וֹם (bə·yō·wm)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of distress,
צָרָ֗ה (ṣā·rāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6869: Tightness, a female rival

how small
צַ֣ר (ṣar)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 6862: Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent

[is] your strength!
כֹּחֶֽכָה׃ (kō·ḥe·ḵāh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3581: A small reptile (of unknown species)


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 24:10 If you falter in the time (Prov. Pro Pr)
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