When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
Parallel translations
- WEB “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.
- KJV When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
- NKJV “When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound.
- NASB When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his sore, Ephraim then went to Assyria And sent word to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you, Or to cure you of your sore.
- NLT “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them.
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
When Israel and Judah felt their wounds, they sought help from Assyria instead of from God, and Assyria could not heal them.
Overview
Rather than turning to the LORD who alone heals, Ephraim ran to the king of Assyria for protection and cure. Such political alliances were powerless to deal with the real disease of sin and covenant unfaithfulness. The verse exposes the folly of trusting human powers over the God who wounds and heals, anticipating the gospel truth that only Christ, the great Physician, can cure the sickness of sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Hos 7:11So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
- Hos 12:1Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
- Jer 30:12For this is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.
- Hos 10:6Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.
- 2 Kgs 15:19Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
- Hos 8:9For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own. Ephraim has hired lovers.
- 2 Chr 28:20–21Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.
- 2 Kgs 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.
- Jer 30:14–15All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer seek you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins.
- 2 Chr 28:16–18At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the king of Assyria.
- Hos 14:3Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
- 2 Kgs 16:7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
- Mic 1:9For her wound is incurable; it has reached even Judah; it has approached the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem itself.
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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 5:13 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.