Jeremiah 8:18
New International Version
You who are my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.

New Living Translation
My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.

English Standard Version
My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me.

Berean Standard Bible
My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me.

King James Bible
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

New King James Version
I would comfort myself in sorrow; My heart is faint in me.

New American Standard Bible
My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me!

NASB 1995
My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me!

NASB 1977
My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me!

Legacy Standard Bible
My sorrow is beyond healing; My heart is faint within me!

Amplified Bible
Oh, that I (Jeremiah) could find comfort from my sorrow [for my grief is beyond healing], My heart is sick and faint within me!

Christian Standard Bible
My joy has flown away; grief has settled on me. My heart is sick.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
My joy has flown away; grief has settled on me. My heart is sick.

American Standard Version
Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! my heart is faint within me.

Contemporary English Version
I'm burdened with sorrow and feel like giving up.

English Revised Version
Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! my heart is faint within me.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Sorrow has overwhelmed me. I am sick at heart!

Good News Translation
My sorrow cannot be healed; I am sick at heart.

International Standard Version
Incurable sorrow has overwhelmed me, my heart is sick within me.

Majority Standard Bible
My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me.

NET Bible
Then I said, "There is no cure for my grief! I am sick at heart!

New Heart English Bible
"My joy for me is sorrow. My heart is faint within me.

Webster's Bible Translation
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

World English Bible
Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
My sorrow [is] beyond comfort, "" My heart [is] sick in me.

Young's Literal Translation
My refreshing for me is sorrow, For me my heart is sick.

Smith's Literal Translation
Because I afflicted not sorrow upon myself, my heart was sick upon me.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
My sorrow is above sorrow, my heart mourneth within me.

Catholic Public Domain Version
My sorrow is beyond sorrow; my heart mourns within me.

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

New Revised Standard Version
My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I am weary with sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
I am worn out in my grief, and my heart grieves against me
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Though I would take comfort against sorrow, My heart is faint within me.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
mortally with the pain of your distressed heart.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jeremiah Weeps for His People
18My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me. 19Listen to the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?”…

Cross References
Lamentations 1:16
For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to revive my soul. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.

Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

Psalm 119:136
My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.

Ezekiel 21:6-7
But you, son of man, groan! Groan before their eyes with a broken heart and bitter grief. / And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”

Micah 1:8
Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.

Isaiah 15:5
My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah. With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith; they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.

Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.

Jeremiah 4:19
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.

Isaiah 16:9
So I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest.

Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it / and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. / For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ...

Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Romans 9:2
I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

John 11:33-35
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. / “Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. / Jesus wept.

2 Corinthians 2:4
For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you.

Revelation 18:10-11
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.” / And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—


Treasury of Scripture

When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

my.

Jeremiah 6:24
We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

Jeremiah 10:19-22
Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it…

Job 7:13,14
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; …

in Heb.

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Comfort Comforter Faint Feeble Grief Healing Heart Refreshing Sadness Sick Sorrow Within
Jeremiah 8
1. The calamity of the Jews, both dead and alive.
4. He upbraids their foolish and shameless impenitency.
13. He shows their grievous judgment;
18. and bewails their desperate estate.














My sorrow
The Hebrew word for "sorrow" here is "מַכְאֹב" (mak'ob), which conveys a deep, personal anguish and pain. This is not a superficial sadness but a profound grief that Jeremiah experiences. In the context of the prophet's ministry, this sorrow reflects the heart of a man who is deeply connected to the spiritual and moral state of his people. Jeremiah's sorrow is a mirror of God's own grief over the sin and impending judgment of Judah. This phrase invites us to consider the weight of spiritual leadership and the burden of intercession for a wayward people.

is beyond healing
The phrase "beyond healing" in Hebrew is "אֲנוּשָׁה" (anushah), which suggests a wound or condition that is incurable. This highlights the severity of the situation in Judah, where the people's rebellion against God has reached a point of no return. Historically, this reflects the period leading up to the Babylonian exile, a time when the nation had repeatedly ignored prophetic warnings. Spiritually, it serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of persistent sin and the importance of repentance before it is too late.

my heart
The Hebrew term "לִבִּי" (libbi) for "heart" encompasses not just emotions but the entire inner being, including mind, will, and understanding. Jeremiah's heart is not just emotionally affected; his entire being is consumed with the plight of his people. This reflects the holistic nature of biblical anthropology, where the heart is the center of one's spiritual and moral life. It challenges us to engage with the world around us not just intellectually or emotionally, but with our whole being.

is faint
The word "faint" in Hebrew is "דַּוָּי" (davai), which can mean weak, sick, or feeble. This conveys a sense of exhaustion and depletion, both physically and spiritually. Jeremiah's faint heart is indicative of the toll that his prophetic ministry and the people's unresponsiveness have taken on him. It is a poignant reminder of the cost of discipleship and the weariness that can accompany faithful service to God, especially in the face of persistent opposition.

within me
The phrase "within me" emphasizes the internal nature of Jeremiah's struggle. It is not just an external lament but an internalized, personal experience of grief. This internalization of sorrow is significant in understanding the depth of Jeremiah's empathy and identification with his people. It also points to the intimate relationship between the prophet and God, as Jeremiah's internal struggle reflects the divine sorrow over human sin. This phrase encourages believers to cultivate a deep, personal connection with God that allows them to feel His heart for the world.

(18) When I would comfort myself . . .--The word translated comfort is not found elsewhere, and has been very differently understood. Taking the words as spoken after a pause, they come as a cry of sorrow following the proclamation of the judgment of Jehovah, Ah, my comfort against sorrow! (mourning for it as dead and gone); my heart is sick within me. The latter phrase is the same as in Isaiah 1:5.

Verse 18 - Jeremiah 9. 50. - The captivity of Judah and the deep sorrow of Jeremiah. Verse 18. - When I would comfort myself, etc. The text is here extremely difficult, and if there is corruption anywhere it is in the opening of this verse. Ewald and Graf suppose an ellipsis, and render, "(Oh for) my enlivening [i.e. an enlivening for me] in trouble!" Hitzig more naturally renders in the vocative, "My enlivener in trouble" which he supposes to be in apposition to my heart. Do Dieu (1648) wavers between this and the view that it is an address to his wife, "Quae marito solatio est." (See, however, Jeremiah 16:2.)

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
My sorrow
יָג֑וֹן (yā·ḡō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3015: Grief, sorrow

is beyond
עֲלֵ֣י (‘ă·lê)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

healing;
מַבְלִ֥יגִיתִ֖י (maḇ·lî·ḡî·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 4010: Smiling, cheerfulness, source of brightening

my heart
לִבִּ֥י (lib·bî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

[is] faint
דַוָּֽי׃ (ḏaw·wāy)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 1742: Sick, troubled

within me.
עָלַ֖י (‘ā·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 8:18 Oh that I could comfort myself against (Jer.)
Jeremiah 8:17
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