Jeremiah 30:12

Authorized King James Version

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For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.

Original Language Analysis

כִּ֣י H3588
כִּ֣י
Strong's: H3588
Word #: 1 of 8
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
כֹ֥ה H3541
כֹ֥ה
Strong's: H3541
Word #: 2 of 8
properly, like this, i.e., by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now
אָמַ֛ר For thus saith H559
אָמַ֛ר For thus saith
Strong's: H559
Word #: 3 of 8
to say (used with great latitude)
יְהוָ֖ה the LORD H3068
יְהוָ֖ה the LORD
Strong's: H3068
Word #: 4 of 8
(the) self-existent or eternal; jeho-vah, jewish national name of god
אָנ֣וּשׁ is incurable H605
אָנ֣וּשׁ is incurable
Strong's: H605
Word #: 5 of 8
to be frail, feeble, or (figuratively) melancholy
לְשִׁבְרֵ֑ךְ Thy bruise H7667
לְשִׁבְרֵ֑ךְ Thy bruise
Strong's: H7667
Word #: 6 of 8
a fracture, figuratively, ruin; specifically, a solution (of a dream)
נַחְלָ֖ה is grievous H2470
נַחְלָ֖ה is grievous
Strong's: H2470
Word #: 7 of 8
properly, to be rubbed or worn; hence (figuratively) to stroke (in flattering), entreat
מַכָּתֵֽךְ׃ and thy wound H4347
מַכָּתֵֽךְ׃ and thy wound
Strong's: H4347
Word #: 8 of 8
a blow (in 2 chronicles 2:10, of the flail); by implication, a wound; figuratively, carnage, also pestilence

Analysis & Commentary

Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous (אָנוּשׁ שִׁבְרֵךְ נַחְלָה מַכָּתֵךְ)—God diagnoses Israel's condition with medical imagery. Anush (incurable, desperate) and nachlah (grievous, sick) describe terminal illness. The sheber (fracture, breaking) and makkah (wound, blow) aren't mere injuries but mortal damage.

Yet this dire diagnosis introduces miraculous healing (v. 17): 'I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds.' The incurable becomes curable through divine intervention. This theological move appears throughout Scripture: dead bones live (Ezekiel 37), barren wombs conceive (Genesis 18), blind eyes see (John 9). God specializes in impossible cases, allowing conditions to reach 'incurable' precisely to showcase His sovereign grace. Israel's wound—sin's consequence—requires not human therapy but divine resurrection.

Historical Context

By 586 BC, Judah's political, social, and spiritual condition appeared terminal: temple destroyed, king blinded and exiled, Jerusalem ruined, population scattered. Medical imagery captured hopelessness—yet introduced supernatural healing.

Questions for Reflection

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