Jeremiah 8:18

8:18 Then I said, ¹ 

“There is no cure ²  for my grief!

I am sick at heart!

Psalms 27:13

27:13 Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience

the Lord’s favor in the land of the living? ³ 

Psalms 77:3-4

77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;

I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” ⁴  (Selah)

77:4 You held my eyelids open; ⁵ 

I was troubled and could not speak. ⁶ 

Proverbs 24:10

24:10 If you faint ⁷  in the day of trouble, ⁸ 

your strength is small! ⁹ 

Lamentations 1:13

מ (Mem)

1:13 He sent down fire ¹⁰ 

into my bones, and it overcame ¹¹  them.

He spread out a trapper’s net ¹²  for my feet;

he made me turn back.

He has made me desolate;

I am faint all day long.

Lamentations 1:22

ת (Tav)

1:22 Let all their wickedness come before you;

afflict ¹³  them

just as you have afflicted ¹⁴  me ¹⁵ 

because of all my acts of rebellion. ¹⁶ 

For my groans are many,

and my heart is sick with sorrow. ¹⁷ 

Lamentations 1:2

ב (Bet)

1:2 She weeps bitterly at night;

tears stream down her cheeks. ¹⁸ 

She has no one to comfort her

among all her lovers. ¹⁹ 

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Colossians 4:16

4:16 And after ²⁰  you have read this letter, have it read ²¹  to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea ²²  as well.

Galatians 6:9

6:9 So we must not grow weary ²³  in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. ²⁴ 

Galatians 6:2

6:2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 3:13

3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming ²⁵  a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) ²⁶ 

Hebrews 12:3-5

12:3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed ²⁷  in your struggle against sin. 12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?

“My son, do not scorn ²⁸  the Lord’s discipline

or give up when he corrects ²⁹  you.

[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.”

[27:13]  ³ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence is incomplete: “If I had not believed [I would] see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” The words “Where would I be” are supplied in the translation to clarify the intent of the statement.

[77:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).

[77:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).

[77:4]  ⁶ tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.

[24:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “show yourself slack” (NASB similar). The verb רָפָה (rafah) means “to sink; to relax.” In the causative stems it means “to let slacken; to let go; to refrain; to fail; to do nothing.” In the Hitpael stem BDB 952 s.v. defines it as “to show yourself slack.” It has also been rendered as “give up” (NCV, CEV); “fail” (NLT); “falter” (NIV). The colon implies a condition, for which the second part of the verse is the apodosis.

[24:10]  ⁸ tn The verse employs a paronomasia to underscore the point: “trouble” is צָרָה (tsarah), literally “a bind; a strait [or, narrow] place”; “small” is צַר (tsar), with the same idea of “narrow” or “close.”

[24:10]  ⁹ sn The test of strength is adversity, for it reveals how strong a person is. Of course a weak person can always plead adverse conditions in order to quit. This is the twenty-fourth saying.

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “He sent fire from on high.” Normally God sends fire from heaven. The idiom מִמָּרוֹם (mimmarom, “from on high”) can still suggest the location but as an idiom may focus on the quality of the referent. For example, “to speak from on high” means “to presume to speak as if from heaven” = arrogantly (Ps 73:8); “they fight against me from on high” = proudly (Ps 56:3) (BDB 928-29 s.v. מָרוֹם). As a potential locative, מִמָּרוֹם (mimmarom, “from on high”) designates God as the agent; idiomatically the same term paints him as pitiless.

[1:13]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads וַיִּרְדֶּנָּה (vayyirdennah, “it prevailed against them”), representing a vav (ו) consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person feminine plural suffix from רָדָה (radah, “to prevail”). The LXX κατήγαγεν αὐτό (kathgagen auto, “it descended”) reflects an alternate vocalization tradition of וַיֹּרִדֶנָּה (vayyoridennah, “it descended against them”), representing a vav (ו) consecutive + Hiphil preterite 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person feminine plural suffix from יָרָד (yarad, “to go down”), or הֹרִידָהּ (horidah, “it descended against her”), a Hiphil perfect ms + 3rd person feminine singular suffix from from יָרָד (yarad, “to go down”). Internal evidence favors the MT. The origin of the LXX vocalization can be explained by the influence of the preceding line, “He sent down fire from on high.”

[1:13]  ¹² tn Heb “net.” The term “trapper’s” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[1:22]  ¹³ tn For the nuance “afflict” see the note at 1:12.

[1:22]  ¹⁴ tn For the nuance “afflict” see the note at 1:12.

[1:22]  ¹⁵ tn The parallel statements “afflict them” and “just as you have afflicted me” in the translation mirror the Hebrew wordplay between עוֹלֵל לָמוֹ (’olel lamo, “May you deal with them”) and עוֹלַלְתָּ לִי (’olalta li, “you dealt with me”).

[1:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “all my rebellions,” that is, “all my rebellious acts.”

[1:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “is sorrowful” or “is faint.” The adjective דַוָּי (davvay, “faint”) is used in reference to emotional sorrow (e.g., Isa 1:5; Lam 1:22; Jer 8:18). The cognate Aramaic term means “sorrow,” and the cognate Syriac term refers to “misery” (HALOT 216 s.v. *דְּוַי). The related Hebrew adjective דְּוַה (dÿvah) means “(physically) sick” and “(emotionally) sad,” while the related Hebrew verb דָּוָה (davah) means “to be sad” due to menstruation. The more literal English versions fail to bring out explicitly the nuance of emotional sorrow and create possible confusion whether the problem is simply loss of courage: “my heart is faint” (KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB, NIV). The more paraphrastic English versions explicate the emotional sorrow that this idiom connotes: “my heart is sick” (NJPS), “I am sick at heart” (TEV), and “I’ve lost all hope!” (CEV).

[1:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “her tears are on her cheek.”

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “lovers.” The term “lovers” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis), comparing Jerusalem’s false gods and foreign political alliances to sexually immoral lovers. Hosea uses similar imagery (Hos 2:5, 7, 10, 13). It may also function as a double entendre, first evoking a disconcerting picture of a funeral where the widow has no loved ones present to comfort her. God also does not appear to be present to comfort Jerusalem and will later be called her enemy. The imagery in Lamentations frequently capitalizes on changing the reader’s expectations midstream.

[4:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “when.”

[4:16]  ²¹ tn The construction beginning with the imperative ποιήσατε ἵνα…ἀναγνωσθῇ (poihsate Jina…anagnwsqh) should be translated as “have it read” where the conjunction ἵνα functions to mark off its clause as the direct object of the imperative ποιήσατε. The content of the clause (“reading the letter”) is what Paul commands with the imperative ποιήσατε. Thus the translation “have it read” has been used here.

[4:16]  ²² sn This letter is otherwise unknown, but some have suggested that it is the letter known today as Ephesians.

[6:9]  ²³ tn Or “not become discouraged,” “not lose heart” (L&N 25.288).

[6:9]  ²⁴ tn Or “if we do not become extremely weary,” “if we do not give out,” “if we do not faint from exhaustion” (L&N 23.79).

[3:13]  ²⁵ tn Grk “having become”; the participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been taken instrumentally.

[3:13]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 21:23. By figurative extension the Greek word translated tree (ζύλον, zulon) can also be used to refer to a cross (L&N 6.28), the Roman instrument of execution.

[12:4]  ²⁷ tn Grk “until blood.”

[12:5]  ²⁸ tn Or “disregard,” “think little of.”

[12:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.