Bible Strands
Isaiah 3:7
On that day he will cry aloud: “I am not a healer. I have no food or clothing in my house. Do not make me leader of the people!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — A citizen addresses his brother and the community during a period of national ruin. He refuses a leadership role when his brother offers authority over destroyed property in exchange for basic provisions.
The words — חֹבֵשׁ (cho.Vesh) literally denotes "a wrapper" or one who binds wounds, while יִשָּׂא (yi.Sa') means "he will lift up" his voice in public declaration.
The thread — The verb "lift up" appears in Genesis 14:22 and Deuteronomy 32:40 as a formal gesture of oath or public proclamation. Hosea 5:13 mirrors the refusal to pursue healing through external leadership when spiritual and material collapse is already underway.
Why it lands — The text records a direct refusal of authority based on a lack of resources and competence. It requires readers to evaluate their actual capacity before accepting public responsibility.
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
In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.
Cross-references
- 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.
- Genesis 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
- Deuteronomy 32:40 For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,
- Isaiah 58:12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.
- Jeremiah 14:19 Have You rejected Judah completely? Do You despise Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We hoped for peace, but no good has come, and for the time of healing, but there was only terror.
- Lamentations 2:13 What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?
- Ezekiel 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
- Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
- Revelation 10:5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven.