Original Word: אָמַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: amal
Pronunciation: ah-mahl
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-mal')
KJV: languish, be weak, wax feeble
NASB: fails, languishes, pines away, wither, decays, fade away, fades
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to droop
2. (by implication) to be sick, to mourn

languish, be weak, wax feeble

A primitive root; to droop; by implication to be sick, to mourn -- languish, be weak, wax feeble.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to be weak, languish
NASB Translation
decays (1), fade away (1), fades (1), fails (2), languish (1), languished (1), languishes (2), languishing (1), pine away (1), pines away (2), wither (2), withered (1).

[אָמַל] verb be weak, languish (compare Arabic hope, expect).

Qal Participle passive feminine מָה אֲמֻלָה לִכָּתֵךְ how weak is thy heart! Ezekiel 16:30 (but < Co מַהלִּֿי וְלִבְרִיתֵח);

Pu`lal Perfect אֻמְלַל Joel 1:10 +; אֻמְלְלָה Isaiah 33:9 +; אֻמְלְלוּ Jeremiah 14:2 etc.; — be or grow feeble, languish; of loss of fertility (woman) 1 Samuel 2:5; Jeremiah 15:19; of fisherman whose trade fails Isaiah 19:8 "" אנה, אבל); in Genl. of inhabitants of smitten land Hosea 4:3 ("" תֶּאֱבַל הָאָרֶץ); Isaiah 24:4 compare below usually subject inanimate, personified; שַׁדְמוֺת חֶשְׁבּוֺן Isaiah 16:8; compare Nahum 1:4 (twice in verse); תֵּבֵל Isaiah 24:4 ("" נבל, אבל); אֶרֶץ Isaiah 33:9 ("" אבל); subject גֶּפֶן Isaiah 24:7 ("" אָבַל תִּירוֺשׁ; יִצְּהָר Joel 1:10 ("" שׁדד, אבל, הובישׁ; kindred subject); תְּאֵנָה Joel 1:12 ("" הַגֶּפֶן הוֺבִישָׁה); שְׁעָרִים Jeremiah 14:2 ("" אָֽבְלָה יְהוּדָה); compare Lamentations 2:8 וַיַּאֲבֶלחֵֿל וְחוֺמָה יַחְדָּו אֻמְלָ֑לוּ.

Meaning and imagery

The verb conveys a picture of fading strength, withered vitality, and resources drained to the point of collapse. Whether it is the human body, the heart, the land, or the walls of a city, the thought is of something once vigorous now wasting away. The contexts consistently present this languishing as the outworking of divine providence; the decline never happens in a moral or spiritual vacuum.

Reversal in personal experience

In Hannah’s praise the word highlights the dramatic overturning of human expectations: “She who has many sons pines away” (1 Samuel 2:5). A similar personal note appears in Jeremiah’s lament over Judah: “She who bore seven has pined away” (Jeremiah 15:9). The Lord who grants life and fertility can also withdraw strength, reminding His people that every blessing is contingent on His favor.

Agricultural and ecological collapse

Several prophets use the term for vines, fields, and entire ecosystems:
• “For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmah” (Isaiah 16:8).
• “The new wine dries up, the vine withers; all the merrymakers now groan” (Isaiah 24:7).
• “Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away” (Hosea 4:3).
• “The vine has dried up… Surely the joy of mankind withers away” (Joel 1:12).

Agricultural languishing is portrayed as covenantal discipline: when the people break faith, creation itself shares in their judgment (compare Genesis 3:17–19; Romans 8:20–22).

National judgment and civic ruin

Cities and nations “languish” when divine protection is lifted:
• “Judah mourns; her gates languish” (Jeremiah 14:2).
• “The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decays” (Isaiah 33:9).
• “He made ramparts and walls lament; together they have languished” (Lamentations 2:8).

Elsewhere the earth itself appears as a sapped kingdom under universal curse: “The earth mourns and fades away; the world withers and fades” (Isaiah 24:4).

Spiritual and moral weakness

The same vocabulary applies to the heart that has surrendered to sin: “How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 16:30). Just as vines shrivel without water, so covenant hearts decay without the fear of the Lord. The prophets therefore merge physical and spiritual decline, teaching that outward ruin mirrors inward apostasy.

Theological trajectory

1. Sovereign causality: every occurrence is embedded in language that attributes the wasting to the Lord’s direct action or permissive will.
2. Covenant accountability: Israel’s languishing serves as legal evidence that the covenant curses (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28) are operative.
3. Global scope: Isaiah 24 extends the principle to all nations, anticipating an eschatological judgment in which the entire earth will “pine away” before final renewal.
4. Redemptive hope: the same prophets who describe withering also promise new creation (Isaiah 35; Joel 2). The fading prepares the stage for divine restoration so that human boasting is silenced and grace alone is praised.

Ministry applications

• Preaching: The word supplies vivid imagery for sermons on sin’s corrosive power and the necessity of repentance.
• Counseling: Believers experiencing spiritual dryness can be led to see their need for the “living water” of Christ (John 7:37–38).
• Social ethics: Ecological degradation in prophetic texts links moral disorder with environmental fallout, calling the church to responsible stewardship.
• Intercession: When families, churches, or nations languish, the proper response is lament and prayer for revival (Psalm 80:18–19).

Christological and eschatological resonance

The Servant of the Lord bears the curse that makes creation wither, and in His resurrection He inaugurates the new age in which the desert blooms (Isaiah 35:1–2; Romans 8:23). Ultimately, every withered vine points beyond itself to the True Vine who imparts eternal life (John 15:1–5). Until the Day when “there will be no more curse” (Revelation 22:3), the instances of אָמַל in Scripture remain both warning signs of judgment and signposts to the hope of complete restoration in Christ.

אֲמֻלָה֙ אֻמְלְל֖וּ אֻמְלְלָ֞ה אֻמְלְלָ֥ה אֻמְלְלָה֙ אֻמְלְלָה־ אֻמְלָ֑לָה אֻמְלָ֖לוּ אֻמְלָ֜ל אֻמְלָֽלָה׃ אֻמְלָֽלוּ׃ אמלה אמלל אמללה אמללה־ אמללה׃ אמללו אמללו׃ וְאֻמְלַל֙ ואמלל ’ă·mu·lāh ’ămulāh ’um·lā·lāh ’um·lā·lū ’um·lāl ’um·lə·lāh ’um·lə·lāh- ’um·lə·lū ’umlāl ’umlālāh ’umlālū ’umləlāh ’umləlāh- ’umləlū amuLah umLal umLalah umLalu umleLah umleLu veumLal wə’umlal wə·’um·lalInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts