Jeremiah 51:8

51:8 But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. ¹ 

Cry out in mourning over it!

Get medicine for her wounds!

Perhaps she can be healed!

Jeremiah 8:22

8:22 There is still medicinal ointment ²  available in Gilead!

There is still a physician there! ³ 

Why then have my dear people ⁴ 

not been restored to health? ⁵ 

Jeremiah 46:11

46:11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment, ⁶ 

you dear poor people of Egypt. ⁷ 

But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use; ⁸ 

there will be no healing for you.

[51:8]  ¹ tn The verbs in this verse and the following are all in the Hebrew perfect tense, a tense that often refers to a past action or a past action with present results. However, as the translator’s notes have indicated, the prophets use this tense to view the actions as if they were as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The stance here is ideal, viewed as already accomplished.

[8:22]  ² tn Heb “balm.” The more familiar “ointment” has been used in the translation, supplemented with the adjective “medicinal.”

[8:22]  ³ tn Heb “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” In this context the questions are rhetorical and expect a positive answer, which is made explicit in the translation.

[8:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[8:22]  ⁵ tn Or more clearly, “restored to spiritual health”; Heb “Why then has healing not come to my dear people?”

[46:11]  ³ tn Heb “balm.” See 8:22 and the notes on this phrase there.

[46:11]  ⁴ sn Heb “Virgin Daughter of Egypt.” See the study note on Jer 14:17 for the significance of the use of this figure. The use of the figure here perhaps refers to the fact that Egypt’s geographical isolation allowed her safety and protection that a virgin living at home would enjoy under her father’s protection (so F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 379). By her involvement in the politics of Palestine she had forfeited that safety and protection and was now suffering for it.

[46:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “In vain you multiply [= make use of many] medicines.”