Bible Strands
Isaiah 9:13
But the people did not return to Him who struck them; they did not seek the LORD of Hosts.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah addresses the northern kingdom of Israel during a campaign of foreign invasion and divine discipline. He speaks to a nation that has just suffered military devastation yet remains spiritually unresponsive.
The words — The Hebrew verb שָׁב (shav) means "to turn back," paired with עַד־הַמַּכֵּהוּ (ad-hammaḵkehû), literally "to the one who struck him." This phrasing marks a deliberate refusal to turn toward the source of their punishment.
The thread — The same pattern of unrepentant rejection appears in Jeremiah 5:3, where struck people feel no pain, and Hosea 7:10, where arrogance prevents return to God. Isaiah 31:1 extends the thread by contrasting this spiritual failure with reliance on foreign military alliances.
Why it lands — The text states that struck people refused to return to their striker and did not seek the LORD of Hosts. It requires the reader to acknowledge divine agency in judgment and to choose active seeking over continued rebellion.
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
For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 5:3 O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
- Hosea 7:10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him.
- Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- Isaiah 1:5 Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.
- Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- 2 Chronicles 28:22 In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
- Job 36:13 The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.
- Isaiah 26:11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!
- Isaiah 57:17 I was enraged by his sinful greed, so I struck him and hid My face in anger; yet he kept turning back to the desires of his heart.
- Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.