“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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 7:11“Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria.
- Hos 12:1Ephraim feeds on wind, and chases the east wind. He continually multiplies lies and desolation. They make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.
- Jer 30:12For Yahweh says, “Your hurt is incurable, and your wound grievous.
- Hos 10:6It also will be carried to Assyria for a present to a great king. Ephraim will receive shame, and Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel.
- 2 Kgs 15:19Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
- Hos 8:9For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has hired lovers for himself.
- 2 Chr 28:20–21Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria came to him, and gave him trouble, but didn’t strengthen him.
- 2 Kgs 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
- Jer 30:14–15All your lovers have forgotten you. They don’t seek you: for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins were increased.
- 2 Chr 28:16–18At that time king Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria to help him.
- Hos 14:3Assyria can’t save us. We won’t ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’ for in you the fatherless finds mercy.”
- 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 out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”
- Mic 1:9For her wounds are incurable; for it has come even to Judah. It reaches to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
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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
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