The Book of Psalms

A Transparent Translation for Daily Meditation

James M. Hamilton

• Publisher: Baker Books
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781493465415
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

A literal translation that offers fresh insight into the Psalms

The psalms are the inspired prayers and praises of God's people. When we study and pray them, they change us--we are shaped by Scripture to think about God the way the psalmists did, and their words become the overflow of our hearts. But much of what makes the psalms so powerful is embedded in the structure and artistry of the original Hebrew--features that most English translations, by rendering the psalms according to the conventions of English poetry, inevitably obscure.

This translation takes a different approach. Intentionally literal and transparent to the underlying Hebrew, James M. Hamilton Jr.'s rendering lets the structure of the original show through--allowing readers to encounter the psalms' language and form in ways most English translations don't permit. Rather than smoothing the Hebrew into fluent English verse, Hamilton holds back and lets the poetry speak on its own terms, preserving and displaying the features that define it:
● Repetition--the deliberate recurrence of words and phrases that creates emphasis and rhythm in Hebrew verse
● Parallelism--the matching or contrasting of lines that is the defining feature of Hebrew poetry
● Symmetry and contrast--the balanced structures that give individual psalms their shape and coherence
● Amplification--the movement from statement to expansion that deepens meaning across a psalm's arc

The result is a translation designed for pastors, students, and serious lay readers who want to peer into the actual words of the psalms and understand how they work.

This new and distinctive translation is ideal for those who, like the blessed man of Psalm 1, aspire to meditate on God's Word day and night--and want to do so with greater fidelity to the words the psalmists actually wrote.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface to this Translation of the Psalms
• Book One
• Book Two
• Book Three
• Book Four
• Book Five
• Appendix: Two Plans for Praying the Psalms
• Back Cover