H5136 H5136
be sick, be incurable — to suffer from severe or mortal illness
This verb appears in Psalm 69, one of the great psalms of individual lament, where the speaker describes overwhelming distress. The text is difficult, with ancient interpreters proposing various readings. The basic sense involves serious illness or incurable wounding, whether literal or metaphorical. The psalm's vivid language of drowning and exhaustion suggests this sickness is more than physical—it's the soul-sickness of one abandoned and mocked.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The Qal imperfect 1st singular in Psalm 69:20, likely meaning 'I am sick' or 'I am mortally wounded,' though the Hebrew text is disputed. The context speaks of reproach breaking the heart, and the psalmist looking vainly for comforters. Some manuscripts suggest different word divisions or roots (related to 'incurable' or 'hoping'). Ancient versions varied in their rendering, but the overall sense is severe distress, perhaps unto death. 1×
AR["وَ-تَوَجَّعْتُ"]·ben["ও-আমি-দুর্বল"]·DE["und-ich-bin-krank"]·EN["and-I-am-sick"]·FR["et-être-malade"]·heb["ו-אנושה"]·ID["dan-aku-sakit-parah"]·IT["[ואנושה]"]·jav["saha-kawula-susah"]·KO["그리고-아파도다"]·PT["e-estou-fraco"]·RU["и-я-болен"]·ES["y-estoy-enfermo"]·SW["na-nimezimia"]·TR["ve-hasta-oldum"]·urd["وَ-میں-بیمار-ہوں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [נוּשׁ] vb. be sick, si vera l. ( = I. אנשׁ according to Thes who comp. Syriac ܢܰܫ );— Qal Impf. 1 s. וָֽאָנוּשָׁה ψ 69:21, but read perhaps [מַכַּת נַפְשִׁי] וַאֲנוּשָׁה (‖ חֶרְפָּה שָֽׁבְרָה לִבִּי), Bi Che crit. n., cf. 𝔊, v. אָנַשׁ" dir="rtl" >I. אנשׁ; or (קַוֹּן) וְאָנוּשׁ הוּא קַוֵּה (with different word-division), Weir Acad. 1870, 257 (who cp. Je 17:9; 8:15).