Bible Strands
Hosea 5:13
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Ephraim and Judah during a crisis of covenant failure where both kingdoms recognize their spiritual decay but respond with political flight. The oracle is delivered amid escalating Assyrian pressure and a pattern of diplomatic betrayal.
The words — וַ/יַּ֨רְא (va/i.Yar') literally means "and he saw," marking Ephraim's deliberate observation of his חָלְי֗/וֹ (chal.Y/o), or "his sickness." This conscious acknowledgment of the wound directly triggers the fatal pivot to Assyria.
The thread — The incurable wound motif reappears in Jeremiah 30:12, while Hosea 7:11 traces Ephraim's dove-like diplomatic flight to Egypt and Assyria. 2 Kings 15:19 records the historical treaty with King Pul that the oracle critiques.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers acknowledge the futility of seeking political salvation from foreign powers when the underlying condition is covenant rebellion. It places the burden of repentance squarely on the reader rather than on diplomatic maneuvering.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 30:12 For this is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.
- Hosea 7:11 So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
- 2 Kings 15:19 Then 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.
- Hosea 10:6 Yes, 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.
- Hosea 12:1 Ephraim feeds on 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.
- Jeremiah 30:14 All 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.
- Hosea 8:9 For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own. Ephraim has hired lovers.
- 2 Kings 15:29 In 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.
- 2 Kings 16:7 So 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.”
- 2 Chronicles 28:16 At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the king of Assyria.