There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.

JEREMIAH 30:13KJV
Know the Bible

Jeremiah 30:13 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 30:13 mean?

Jeremiah 30:13 says that no one is willing or able to defend the people or help them recover; there is no one to bind up their wounds or provide healing for them. The verse paints a picture of complete abandonment and helplessness, with no remedy or advocate available.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah, describing their desperate situation during a time of national crisis and exile. The language emphasizes that their suffering is so severe and their guilt so great that no ally, healer, or legal defender can be found to help them. This sets the stage for understanding just how dire their condition is before God later promises restoration.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 30:13

  • plead (רִיב, riv): This word often means to contend or argue a case in court. Here, it highlights that there is no one to act as a legal advocate or defender for the people, stressing their isolation.
  • cause (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat): This term refers to a legal case or justice. The lack of anyone to plead their "cause" underscores that the people have no one to seek justice for them.
  • up (עֲלוּלָה, alulah): This word is connected to the idea of binding up a wound. The verse uses it to show that there is no one to care for or bandage their injuries, deepening the sense of abandonment.
  • healing (תְּרוּפָה, terufah) and medicines (רְפוּאָה, refuah): Both words relate to healing or remedies. Their absence in the verse stresses that there is no cure or relief available for the people's suffering.

Why Jeremiah 30:13 matters

  • Jeremiah 30:13 clears up any idea that the people's suffering is minor or that help is readily available; it stresses total abandonment and the impossibility of self-rescue.
  • The verse highlights the seriousness of Judah's condition, making the later promises of healing and restoration in the chapter even more striking by contrast.
  • Understanding the legal and medical language in the verse helps readers see how Jeremiah uses vivid imagery to show both the spiritual and practical hopelessness of the people at that moment.

Where else these words appear

“up” Hebrew H4205 · used in 2 verses

  • Hosea 5:13 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.

“medicines” Hebrew H7499 · used in 3 verses

  • Jeremiah 46:11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
  • Ezekiel 30:21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

“healing” Hebrew H8585 · used in 11 verses

  • 1 Kings 18:32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
  • 2 Kings 18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field.
  • Isaiah 7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field;

“cause” Hebrew H1779 · used in 17 verses

  • Deuteronomy 17:8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose;
  • Psalms 9:4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
  • Proverbs 29:7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.