to despair/become despairing/abandon hope
Despaired. Lost hope.
("In the multitude of your ways you wearied yourself, yet you did not say despair; you found renewed strength, therefore you were not sick" – Isaiah 57:10, and also: "Suddenly the son became ill and they consulted doctors, and the doctors said despair for his life" – S.Y. Agnon / Tales of the Baal Shem Tov / The Binding of Isaac, and also: "The cords of death encompassed us, the doctor said despair for me" – Uri Zvi Greenberg / Songs of the Mirror, and also: "It is the custom of the fathers not to say despair / only to speak words of man and father" – Natan Alterman / The End of the Father)
Translation
Expression (Hebrew)
אָמַר נוֹאָשׁ
Definition (Hebrew)
הִתְיָאֵשׁ. אִבֵּד תִּקְוָה.
("בְּרֹב דַּרְכֵּךְ יָגַעַתְּ לֹא אָמַרְתְּ נוֹאָשׁ חַיַּת יָדֵךְ מָצָאת עַל כֵּן לֹא חָלִית"- יְשַׁעְיָהוּ נז י, וְכֵן:"פִּתְאוֹם חָלָה הַבֵּן וְדָרַשׁ בָּרוֹפְאִים וְהָרוֹפְאִים אָמְרוּ נוֹאָשׁ לְחַיָּיו"- שַׁ"י עַגְנוֹן/ סִפּוּרֵי הַבֵּעשְׁ"ט/ עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק, וְכֵן:"אֲפָפוּנוּ חֶבְלֵי מָוֶת,הָרוֹפֵא אָמַר נוֹאָשׁ לִי"-אצ"ג/ שִׁירֵי אַסְפַּקְלַר וְכֵן:"זֶה הֶרְגֵּל אָבוֹת לֹא לוֹמַר נוֹאָשׁ/ רַק לוֹמַר דִּבְרֵי אִישׁ וְאָב "- נָתָן אַלְתֶּרְמָן/ קֵץ הָאָב)