“Hear, O Kings! Princes, give ear! I shall sing to Him!”

Themes such as the longing for the homeland run throughout the ages, especially in verse written after the rise of the Zionist movement, while poems of the last century marry Biblical references with the horrors of the Holocaust. Together these works create a moving portrait of a rich and varied culture through the last 3,000 years.

These poems are presented simultaneously in the original Hebrew and in English prose translation. This volume includes an introduction discussing the development of Hebrew verse through different periods, countries and poetic forms; notes on medieval genres and systems of versification; and a bibliography, glossary and notes that consume the first 143 pages.

Tables of poems include Part One: To the Tenth Century, Part Two: From the 10th Century to the 18th Century, and Part Three: Modern Times. Graphs provided on pgs 16,17, and 71 show respectively The Distribution of Hebrew Poetry and The Major Systems of Hebrew Verse (in their logical and chronological order) and Note on the Systems of Hebrew Versification.

T. Carmi has made an astounding, Biblically accurate compilation. This is a work for those who seek God’s truths and are willing to go the extra mile to mine this blessing for themselves, the diligent who can always use a timely word from the Creator.