I recommend the following translations and commentaries for the English-speaking student of Song of Songs. Song of Songs: English Translations and Commentaries
Bibliography
Bloch, Ariel and Chana Bloch. The Song of Songs: A new translation with an introduction and commentary. Afterword by Robert Alter. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 1995.
Bloch and Bloch provide an excellent translation with poetic sensitivity. They also provide a well-done and useful commentary on the Hebrew text.
Falk, Marcia. Song of Songs. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990.
Marcia Falk is an accomplished poet in Hebrew and English. This is a marvelous translation of the Song of Songs into English poetry, with the intent of preserving the flavor of the original Hebrew poetry. This edition is a revision of her Love lyrics from the Bible (1982).
Murphy, Roland Edmund. The Song of Songs: A commentary on the Book of Canticles or the Song of Songs. Edited by S. Dean McBride, Jr. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.
This is a very useful, scholarly commentary on the Hebrew text.
Pope, Marvin H. Song of Songs: A new translation with introduction and commentary. Anchor Bible. 1st ed. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977.
This is the classic, scholarly, English commentary on Song of Songs. A massive tome, it will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about love, dogs, and death.
Last Modified: 14 February, 2001 Jay Treat