Nehemia 8:13

8:13 On the second day of the month the family leaders ¹  met with ²  Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law.

Mazmur 30:12

30:12 So now ³  my heart ⁴  will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always ⁵  give thanks to you.

[8:13]  ¹ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[8:13]  ² tn Heb “were gathered to”; NAB, NIV “gathered around”; NRSV “came together to.”

[30:12]  ³ tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”

[30:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.

[30:12]  ⁵ tn Or “forever.”