Yeremia 8:18

8:18 Then I said, ¹ 

“There is no cure ²  for my grief!

I am sick at heart!

Yeremia 10:24

10:24 Correct us, Lord, but only in due measure. ³ 

Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. ⁴ 

Yeremia 45:3

45:3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! ⁵  For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. ⁶  I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

[8:18]  ¹ tn The words, “Then I said” are not in the text but there is a general consensus that the words of vv. 18-19a are the words of Jeremiah. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ² tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. The translation is based on the redivision and repointing of a word that occurs only here in the MT and whose pattern of formation is unparalleled in the Hebrew Bible. The MT reads מַבְלִיגִיתִי (mavligiti) which BDB provisionally derives from a verb root meaning “to gleam” or “to shine.” However, BDB notes that the text is dubious (cf. BDB 114 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית). The text is commonly emended to מִבְּלִי גְּהֹת (mibbÿli gÿhot) which is a Qal infinitive from a verb meaning “to heal” preceded by a compound negative “for lack of, to be at a loss for” (cf., e.g., HALOT 514 s.v. מַבְלִיגִית and 174 s.v. גּהה). This reading is supported by the Greek text which has an adjective meaning “incurable,” which is, however, connected with the preceding verse, i.e., “they will bite you incurably.”

[10:24]  ³ tn Heb “with justice.”

[10:24]  ⁴ tn The words, “to almost nothing” are not in the text. They are implicit from the general context and are supplied by almost all English versions.

[45:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Woe to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19 for the rendering of this term.

[45:3]  ⁶ sn From the context it appears that Baruch was feeling sorry for himself (v. 5) as well as feeling anguish for the suffering that the nation would need to undergo according to the predictions of Jeremiah that he was writing down.