Jeremiah 8:18

Then I said, ¹  “There is no cure ²  for my grief! I am sick at heart!

O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.

My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me!

My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.

I drown in grief. I'm heartsick.

Sorrow has come on me! my heart in me is feeble.

My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.

I would comfort myself in sorrow; My heart is faint in me.

Then I said, ¹  “There is no cure ²  for my grief! I am sick at heart!

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.

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.”