The Complete Psalms: The Book of Prayer Songs in a New Translation

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Overview

In her new, complete translation of the Book of Psalms, Pamela Greenberg "favors beauty before theology," in the words of Mary Karr, writing in the Washington Post of the unpublished manuscript of this book, "breathing new life into the ancient texts." It is precisely the honesty of these prayer songs, overflowing into wild jubilance or deeply wrenching despair, that Greenberg has captured in her new translations, making them touch us so deeply. Traditional translations—from those of the medieval Jewish ...

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Overview

In her new, complete translation of the Book of Psalms, Pamela Greenberg "favors beauty before theology," in the words of Mary Karr, writing in the Washington Post of the unpublished manuscript of this book, "breathing new life into the ancient texts." It is precisely the honesty of these prayer songs, overflowing into wild jubilance or deeply wrenching despair, that Greenberg has captured in her new translations, making them touch us so deeply. Traditional translations—from those of the medieval Jewish commentator Rashi to early Christian commentators to the King James version—have downplayed anger at God and reinterpreted the Psalms in ways that would be doctrinally more palatable, but which flatten the richness and subtlety of the Hebrew verse. Greenberg's translation aims to restore the poetry and vibrancy of the Psalms as a prayerful act, replicating their emotional passion while both wrestling with the text as living liturgy and remaining as true as possible to the originals. Her desire in this new translation is to rekindle the relevance of the Psalms, to bring to life what makes their words cry and breathe and shout—a labor of yearning, necessity, and love.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
With her introduction to this new translation of the biblical book of Psalms, Greenberg, a poet who has studied ancient Hebrew and Judaism, explains that she approached the work first as a personal spiritual exercise. That authentic engagement with these poems of universal human experience comes through in her translation, which moves freely between strict translation and loose interpretation as the author's artistic and religious impulses dictate. Greenberg's knowledge of the original language of the psalms and their stylistic characteristics keeps the book from becoming simply a meditation about, or reaction to, any existing version in English. She maintains the parallelism that is fundamental to Hebrew poetry, and her rendering is informed by the nuances of individual words or phrases. For example, in place of the familiar phrase "for your name's sake" in Psalm 23, Greenberg writes, "for that is your nature." Some readers may take issue with Greenberg's choices, but they should welcome this poetic translation as not only the work of a modern poet but also fresh commentary on one of the best-loved books of the Bible.
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Library Journal
Greenberg, herself a poet, provides a complete translation of the Psalms. She is, naturally, up against some stiff competition—along with the committee that brought forth the Authorized Version, the likes of the Countess of Pembroke, Isaac Watts, and, more recently, biblical scholar Robert Alter. Greenberg's version speaks with a directness and simplicity that distinguishes it from the magniloquence of most other versions. Hers is not always a directly literal approach—she runs away from the notorious infanticide promised in Psalm 137, for instance, with a "brightest future" and shifts or eliminates the Hebrew's persistent masculine nouns and pronouns in ways that may feel more "right" but disguise the poems' real history. Her version, however, has a spare elegance of its own. VERDICT A clear and moving but not definitive translation of the Psalms for modern readers. Recommended for most collections, especially where there is a strong Jewish readership.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781608191208
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
  • Publication date: 3/30/2010
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 795,089
  • Product dimensions: 5.86 (w) x 8.60 (h) x 1.16 (d)

Meet the Author

Pamela Greenberg is a poet and writer. She has an M.F.A from Syracuse University and a Masters in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College, where she received an award in Hebrew Literature. She spent a year in rabbinical school before deciding to dedicate herself more fully to writing. Pam has received several writing awards, including a University Fellows award at Syracuse and a residency at the Millay Colony for the Arts. An excerpt from her Psalms translation appeared in Book World section of the Washington Post. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and young son.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 7, 2010

    Complete Psalms is perfect for all faiths

    This is a beautiful book written with palpable passion and spirituality and should be a part of everyone's library whatever your religious beliefs. The translator brings the psalms to life in a very meaningful way with great sensitivity and loyalty to the original texts.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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