Lamentations 3:41

Footnotes

1. 89 The reads the singular noun לְבָבֵנוּ (lévavenu, “our heart”) but the ancient versions (, Aramaic , Latin ) and many medieval Hebrew read the plural noun לְבָבֵינוּ (lévavenu, “our hearts”). Hebrew regularly places plural pronouns on singular nouns used as a collective (135 times on the singular “heart” and only twice on the plural “hearts”). The plural “hearts” in any Hebrew construction is actually rather rare. The renders similar Hebrew constructions (singular “heart” plus a plural pronoun) with the plural “hearts” about 1/3 of the time, therefore it cannot be considered evidence for the reading. The may have been influenced by the . Although a distributive sense is appropriate for a much higher percentage of passages using the plural “hearts” in the , no clear reason for the differentiation in the has emerged. Likely the singular Hebrew form is original but the meaning is best represented in English with the plural.