eupomene's review against another edition
5.0
Robert Alter returned to the original Hebrew for this excellent and beautiful translation of the Book of Psalms. He includes a lengthy history of where the Psalms began, the difficulty of translating and giving a final product as much like the Hebrew poetry as possible, though in English. I took a year to read these, slowly, and will read them again. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Psalms, and the various translations of the Bible.
studeronomy's review against another edition
5.0
An exhilarating translation. The introduction is insightful, informative, and engaging. Alter guides you through his process with thorough and thoughtful footnotes. His decisions, particularly the difficult ones (there are many, given the vast differences between Biblical Hebrew and Modern English), are explained fully, and alternative translations are sometimes offered. This is the only Psalms I use.
darwin8u's review
5.0
Pseudo Psalm #149
1. For Alter.
To you Robert. I lift my pen. א
2. And work to compose tonight
before midnight a Sunday psalm.בּ
3. I read your book in bed and
in the bath. ג
4. I read it until I fell asleep
until my fingers pruned. ד
5. I read it while listening to
songs of Patti Smith. ה
6. I read it while listening to
songs of Frank Black. ו
7. I read it while listening to
songs of the Cult and Floyd. ז
8 But LOVED reading it while listening
to just the iambs of my heart. ח
9. I loved the book, with its thin red ribbon
and thick white pages. ט
10. I loved the book, with its context
commentary, and poetry. י
11. I loved your footnotes and the
transparency of your work. כּ
12. Your struggles and stumbles,
your power and poetry. ל
13. I love that inside your brain
spins a poet, an Hebrew scholar. מ
14. That inside your heart beats
a mystic, and an intellectual. נ
15. I listened to the King James with
my kids in the Morning. ס
16. But later, I alone would
study Alter in the Evening. ע
17. I would feather the edge
of Psalms with Post-It flags. פּ
18. To mark a line of poetry
that pierced me to the core. צ
19. To mark a footnote
that quickened my reading. ק
20. I long to face Alter's [b:Wisdom|8726220|The Wisdom Books Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328052795s/8726220.jpg|13599187]
[b:Books|8726220|The Wisdom Books Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328052795s/8726220.jpg|13599187] and [b:5 Books of Moses|107468|The Five Books of Moses|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328000807s/107468.jpg|807360]. ר
21. I have yet to start Alter's [b:David|233468|The David Story A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924159s/233468.jpg|2554332]
[b:Story|233468|The David Story A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924159s/233468.jpg|2554332] or [b:Ancient Israel|18378000|Ancient Israel The Former Prophets Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings A Translation with Commentary|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395612915s/18378000.jpg|22251265]. שׁ
22. I am old, but too shall conquer since
Robert Alter is older and the
Old Testament older still. תּ
1. For Alter.
To you Robert. I lift my pen. א
2. And work to compose tonight
before midnight a Sunday psalm.בּ
3. I read your book in bed and
in the bath. ג
4. I read it until I fell asleep
until my fingers pruned. ד
5. I read it while listening to
songs of Patti Smith. ה
6. I read it while listening to
songs of Frank Black. ו
7. I read it while listening to
songs of the Cult and Floyd. ז
8 But LOVED reading it while listening
to just the iambs of my heart. ח
9. I loved the book, with its thin red ribbon
and thick white pages. ט
10. I loved the book, with its context
commentary, and poetry. י
11. I loved your footnotes and the
transparency of your work. כּ
12. Your struggles and stumbles,
your power and poetry. ל
13. I love that inside your brain
spins a poet, an Hebrew scholar. מ
14. That inside your heart beats
a mystic, and an intellectual. נ
15. I listened to the King James with
my kids in the Morning. ס
16. But later, I alone would
study Alter in the Evening. ע
17. I would feather the edge
of Psalms with Post-It flags. פּ
18. To mark a line of poetry
that pierced me to the core. צ
19. To mark a footnote
that quickened my reading. ק
20. I long to face Alter's [b:Wisdom|8726220|The Wisdom Books Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328052795s/8726220.jpg|13599187]
[b:Books|8726220|The Wisdom Books Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328052795s/8726220.jpg|13599187] and [b:5 Books of Moses|107468|The Five Books of Moses|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328000807s/107468.jpg|807360]. ר
21. I have yet to start Alter's [b:David|233468|The David Story A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924159s/233468.jpg|2554332]
[b:Story|233468|The David Story A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924159s/233468.jpg|2554332] or [b:Ancient Israel|18378000|Ancient Israel The Former Prophets Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings A Translation with Commentary|Robert Alter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395612915s/18378000.jpg|22251265]. שׁ
22. I am old, but too shall conquer since
Robert Alter is older and the
Old Testament older still. תּ
More...