And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
Parallel translations
- WEB It will happen in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
- BSB And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
- NKJV It shall come to pass in that day That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
- NASB On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
- NLT I will break its military power in the Jezreel Valley.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God foretells the shattering of Israel's military strength in the same valley of Jezreel. Their trusted power will be broken there.
Overview
Breaking 'the bow' signifies the collapse of Israel's army and defensive might. The valley of Jezreel, a strategic plain, would witness the undoing of the nation's strength rather than its glory. The verse reinforces that no human power can shield a people who have abandoned their God, a sober reminder that security apart from the Lord is an illusion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 17:16And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.
- Judg 6:33Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
- Jer 51:56Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.
- Ps 37:15Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
- Jer 49:34–35The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
- Hos 2:18And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
- Ps 46:9He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
- 2 Kgs 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
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Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 1:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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