the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

English

Etymology

From the Bible's account of Jesus' last night in Gethsemane. Matthew 26:41: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Proverb

the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

1. As much as one wishes to achieve something, the frailties of the human body often make it impossible. Sometimes extended to jocular or organizational referents.

Related terms

• the spirit moves one

 

Translations

achieving something is made impossible by frailty

• Arabic: الرُوحُ تَوَّاقَةُ وَلٰكِنَّ الجَسَدُ ضَعِيفُ (ar-rūḥu tawwāqatu walākinna l-jasadu ḍaʕīfu)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 心有餘而力不足／心有余而力不足 (zh) (xīn yǒu yú ér lì bù zú)

• Czech: duchť zajisté hotov jest, ale tělo nemocno
• Danish: ånden er rede, men kødet er skrøbeligt
• Dutch: de geest is gewillig, maar het vlees is zwak
• Esperanto: la spirito ja estas fervora, sed la karno estas malforta
• Finnish: henki on altis, mutta liha on heikko, henki tosin on altis, mutta liha on heikko
• French: l’esprit est prompt, mais la chair est faible
• German: der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach (de)
• Hebrew: אמנם הרוח חפצה, אבל הבשר חלש, הרוח חפצה והבשר רָפֶה
• Hindi: आत्मा तैयार है लेकिन मांस कमजोर है (ātmā taiyār hai lekin māns kamjor hai)
• Hungarian: a lélek kész, de a test erőtlen (hu)
• Italian: lo spirito è pronto, ma la carne è stanca
• Japanese: 心熱けれど肉体は弱し (kokoro netsu keredo nikutai wa yowashi)
• Latin: spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma
• Maori: he hihiko te wairua, ko te kikokiko ia he ngoikore
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ånden er villig men kjødet er svakt

• Polish: dusza chętna, ale ciało słabe
• Portuguese: o espírito está pronto, mas a carne é fraca
• Russian: дух бодр, плоть же не́мощна (dux bodr, plotʹ že némoščna)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дух је, истина, вољан, но тијело је слабо

  Roman: duh je, istina, voljan, no tijelo je slabo

• Spanish: el espíritu está presto, mas la carne enferma
• Swedish: anden är villig men köttet är svagt (1917);anden vill, men kroppen är svag (2000)
• Vietnamese: tâm thần thì muốn lắm, mà xác thịt thì yếu đuối