For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Yahweh says, “Your hurt is incurable, and your wound grievous.
- BSB For this is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.
- NKJV “For thus says the Lord: ‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe.
- NASB ¶“For this is what the Lord says: ‘Your broken limb is irreparable, And your wound is incurable.
- NLT This is what the Lord says: “Your injury is incurable— a terrible wound.
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 declares Israel's wound incurable and grievous. Their condition is beyond human remedy.
Overview
Returning briefly to the theme of judgment, God describes the people's brokenness as a hopeless wound. This honest diagnosis of sin's devastation shows that no human effort can heal it. By exposing the depth of the problem, the passage prepares for the divine cure God alone can provide.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 15:18Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?
- Jer 30:15Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
- 2 Chr 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
- Jer 14:17Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
- Isa 1:5–6Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
- Ezek 37:11Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 30:12 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.