Psalms 38:17

38:17 For I am about to stumble,

and I am in constant pain. ¹ 

Psalms 116:3

116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, ² 

the snares ³  of Sheol confronted me.

I was confronted ⁴  with trouble and sorrow.

Nehemiah 2:2

2:2 So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.

Proverbs 15:13

15:13 A joyful heart ⁵  makes the face cheerful, ⁶ 

but by a painful heart the spirit is broken.

Ecclesiastes 5:17

5:17 Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, ⁷ 

and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.

Jeremiah 8:18

8:18 Then I said, ⁸ 

“There is no cure ⁹  for my grief!

I am sick at heart!

Jeremiah 45:3

45:3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! ¹⁰  For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. ¹¹  I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

Matthew 26:38

26:38 Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”

John 16:6

16:6 Instead your hearts are filled with sadness ¹²  because I have said these things to you.

Romans 9:2

9:2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ¹³ 

Philippians 2:27

2:27 In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. ¹⁴  But God showed mercy to him – and not to him only, but also to me – so that I would not have grief on top of grief.

[38:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and my pain [is] before me continually.”

[116:3]  ² tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[116:3]  ³ tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.

[116:3]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.

[15:13]  ⁵ tn The contrast in this proverb is between the “joyful heart” (Heb “a heart of joy,” using an attributive genitive) and the “painful heart” (Heb “pain of the heart,” using a genitive of specification).

[15:13]  ⁶ sn The verb יֵיטִב (yetiv) normally means “to make good,” but here “to make the face good,” that is, there is a healthy, favorable, uplifted expression. The antithesis is the pained heart that crushes the spirit. C. H. Toy observes that a broken spirit is expressed by a sad face, while a cheerful face shows a courageous spirit (Proverbs [ICC], 308).

[5:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “all his days.” The phrase “of his life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.”

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

[45:3]  ¹¹ 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.

[16:6]  ¹² tn Or “distress” or “grief.”

[9:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “my sorrow is great and the anguish in my heart is unceasing.”

[2:27]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “For he became ill to the point of death.”