John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 7:17

"All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water." — Ezekiel 7:17 (ASV)

He confirms the previous sentence: the trembling would be so severe that those oppressed with all kinds of evil would not dare to utter their complaints freely. He says, all hands should be loosened, and all knees should be unstable as water.

We know that this doctrine frequently appears in the Prophets, through which God shows that human hearts are in His hands.

But because profane men are defiant against God, trusting in their own wealth or fortitude, God, on the contrary, pronounces that they will become fearful and anxious—indeed, almost vanishing and, as it were, lifeless, as if their knees were dissolving in water and their hands were limp.