ABSTRACT
The verb system in classical Hebrew is unusual in that it displays only two forms which seem to count as what in IndoEuropean languages we call ‘tenses’. While these are generally held to describe completed and incomplete actions, respectively, there can in some circumstances be doubts as to the accuracy of this correlation. As a result, particularly in poetic texts, translators tend to treat these ‘tenses’ with considerable freedom, frequently rendering them not as might seem to be indicated by their form, but to suit (one suspects) the translator's convenience. I hold the somewhat unusual view that in the great majority of cases both in narrative prose and in poetry we should respect the forms of the verbs and render them accordingly. 1 The second verb in verse 2 has the form of continuing action, and my amended text takes note of this.
