Some of us read Bible commentaries and use Bible commentaries for various reasons and the reality is that there is no shortage of commentaries. Sometimes commentaries are given by first rate scholars who even provide a new translation directly related to the commentary. In truth, most Bible scholars are not first class wordsmiths and in the best of all possible worlds, poets, and polished producers of prose would be consulted when translating the Bible. One reason I so enjoy the translations of Robert Alter is because he really does understand language. He knows Hebrew very well and is equally knowledgeable of English. Since it is not likely Bible scholars will seek out poets to assist in translating we all need to keep our eyes open for the occasions when poets translate Hebrew poetry. David Slavitt's translation of Lamentations is such a work. Most of us know that this portion of H...