Book II
Psalms 42–72
Psalm 42
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.
1A deer longs for streams of water.
God, I long for you in the same way.
2I am thirsty for God. I am thirsty for the living God.
When can I go and meet with him?
3My tears have been my food
day and night.
All day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4When I remember what has happened,
I tell God all my troubles.
I remember how I used to walk to the house of God.
The Mighty One guarded my steps.
We shouted with joy and praised God
as we went along with the joyful crowd.
5My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
6My spirit is very sad deep down inside me.
So I will remember you here where the Jordan River begins.
I will remember you here on the Hermon mountains
and on Mount Mizar.
7You have sent wave upon wave of trouble over me.
It roars down on me like a waterfall.
All your waves and breakers have rolled over me.
8During the day the Lord sends his love to me.
During the night I sing about him.
I say a prayer to the God who gives me life.
9I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around in sorrow?
Why am I treated so badly by my enemies?”
10My body suffers deadly pain
as my enemies make fun of me.
All day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
11My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
BOOK II
Psalms 42–72
Psalm 42In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.In Hebrew texts 42:1-11 is numbered 42:2-12.
For the director of music. A maskilTitle: Probably a literary or musical term of the Sons of Korah.
1As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One42:4 See Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
5Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
6My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
