יָאַשׁ

From the study of Jeremiah 18:12

Range of meaning

The root y-'-sh means "to give up hope, despair." The intensive form means to make someone despair or to give up on something (1 Samuel 27:1: Saul "will give up" hunting David; Ecclesiastes 2:20: "to make my heart despair"). The passive participle no'ash means "despaired of, given up": a lost cause. Used alone, it works as a stock exclamation: "Hopeless!" or "It's no use!"

Against the English

KJV "There is no hope" and NASB/BSB "It is hopeless" can sound like sad despair. ESV "in vain," NIV/WEB-style "it's no use," and NLT's paraphrase "Don't waste your breath" bring out the dismissive tone better. YLT's "It is incurable" is too strong; that is a different Hebrew idea.

How it drifted

In modern English "hopeless" usually describes a feeling of helpless sorrow. Here the word is said to end a demand: "forget it."

Used elsewhere in the period

It occurs only a few times. Jeremiah 2:25 is the closest parallel: "But you said, 'No'ash! No, for I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.'" It has the same pattern: the exclamation, then "for/no," then "after X I/we will walk." Isaiah 57:10 reproaches the people because they "did not say no'ash" even when exhausted. Job 6:26 speaks of "the words of a desperate man" (no'ash). The Greek Septuagint seems to have understood the word differently at Jeremiah 2:25, and apparently here too, using a verb meaning "we will be manly, act boldly." That reading brings out the defiance.

From the study of 1 Samuel 27:1

Range of meaning

In the niphal: to give up hope, regard something as hopeless, abandon an effort. In the piel (Eccl 2:20): to make one's heart despair.

Against the English

KJV and WEB have 'Saul shall despair of me'. BSB has 'will stop searching for me'. NIV has 'will give up searching'. The modern versions convey the practical meaning better.

How it drifted

In current English 'despair' usually names an emotional state close to depression. In older English, 'despair of X' meant to give up hope of getting X, which matches the Hebrew. The KJV phrase is accurate, but today it can mislead.

Used elsewhere in the period

'It is hopeless!' (נוֹאָשׁ) is what the people say when they refuse to stop chasing other gods (Jer 2:25; 18:12). Similar uses appear in Isa 57:10 and Job 6:26. In every case it means 'it's no use': the speaker gives up on an outcome.

From the study of Jeremiah 2:25

Range of meaning

The verb יָאַשׁ (yāʾaš) means 'to give up, despair, abandon hope.' This passive form, used as a one-word cry, works as a stock exclamation: 'It's hopeless! / No use! / Forget it!' Elsewhere the verb describes giving up a search (1 Sam 27:1, Saul will give up looking for David) or heart-weariness (Eccl 2:20).

Against the English

KJV 'There is no hope' and BSB 'It is hopeless!' are accurate word for word, but they can sound like a grieving sinner who thinks God cannot forgive. WEB 'It is in vain' and renderings like 'It's no use!' catch the dismissive tone better. YLT's 'It is incurable' misses the idiom.

How it drifted

In Christian English, 'no hope' easily suggests despair about salvation. The Hebrew exclamation is a shrug of refusal: talking to me is pointless, I'm not changing.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same cry comes in Jer 18:12, where the people answer the call to repent with 'נוֹאָשׁ! We will walk after our own plans.' It also comes in Isa 57:10, where Israel, worn out by her journeys after other gods, 'did not say נוֹאָשׁ', that is, she never gave up the chase. In both places it belongs to the language of stubborn idolatry, not of contrition.