Psalms / Chapter 42

Psalms 42

12 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Psalm 42 opens Book II of the Psalter and is attributed to the Sons of Korah. It is the first half of what was originally a single psalm (42-43), as indicated by the shared refrain ('Why are you cast down, O my soul?'), identical structure, and the fact that Psalm 43 lacks a superscription — unique among its neighbors. The psalmist is in exile, far from the Temple, possibly in the region of the Jordan headwaters near Mount Hermon. He thirsts for God's presence the way a deer pants for flowing water, remembers leading processions to the house of God, and battles despair while enemies taunt him with 'Where is your God?'

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The opening image — ke-ayal ta'arog al afiqe mayim ('as a deer pants for channels of water') — is one of the most famous metaphors in all literature. The verb ta'arog appears only here and in Joel 1:20 (where animals groan for water in drought), making it an extremely rare word that conveys desperate, physical longing. The psalm's structure is built around a three-fold refrain (42:6, 42:12, 43:5) in which the psalmist interrogates his own soul: 'Why are you cast down?' This internal dialogue — the self addressing the self in God's presence — is a remarkable psychological portrait. The psalmist does not deny his despair; he questions it, argues with it, and ultimately commands his soul to hope. The geography is specific: the land of the Jordan, Mount Hermon, and Mount Mizar (a small peak, perhaps near Caesarea Philippi). Deep calls to deep (tehom el tehom) at the sound of God's waterfalls — the very water he thirsts for becomes an image of overwhelming chaos.

Translation Friction

The superscription assigns this to the bene Qorach ('Sons of Korah'), a levitical guild of Temple musicians descended from Korah, whose rebellion and death are recorded in Numbers 16. That the descendants of a rebel became the Temple's premier musicians is itself a story of redemption. The phrase be-har mits'ar ('on Mount Mizar') is debated — mits'ar means 'smallness,' so this may be 'the little mountain,' an actual place name, or a metaphor for the psalmist's diminished state in contrast to Mount Zion's greatness. The Elohistic Psalter (42-83) consistently uses Elohim rather than YHVH, probably due to editorial substitution. We retain LORD where the original likely read YHVH.

Connections

Psalms 42-43 form a single literary unit, as demonstrated by the triple refrain, shared vocabulary, and the absence of a superscription on Psalm 43. The deer imagery connects to Song of Songs 2:9, 17, where the beloved is compared to a gazelle. The phrase 'deep calls to deep' (tehom el tehom, v. 8) evokes Genesis 1:2 (tehom, the primordial deep) and Jonah 2:4-6 (the waters of chaos overwhelming the drowning prophet). The taunt 'Where is your God?' (v. 4, 11) appears also in Joel 2:17 and Micah 7:10, always as the enemy's mockery of God's apparent absence.

Psalms 42:1

לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לִבְנֵי־קֹֽרַח׃

For the choirmaster. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.

KJV To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

מַשְׂכִּיל maskil
"maskil" — instruction, insight, contemplation, skillful song, wisdom-psalm

maskil appears in the superscriptions of thirteen psalms. From sakal ('to act prudently, to have insight'), it may indicate a psalm designed to impart wisdom or one that requires skill in performance. We leave it untranslated as a technical musical/liturgical term.

Translator Notes

  1. maskil may derive from sakal ('to be prudent, to give insight') and likely indicates a psalm of instruction or contemplation. The bene Qorach ('Sons of Korah') were a levitical guild of Temple singers and musicians. Their ancestor Korah led a rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16) and was swallowed by the earth, but his sons survived (Numbers 26:11) — a detail that makes their role as worship leaders a living testimony to grace surviving judgment.
Psalms 42:2

כְּאַיָּ֗ל תַּעֲרֹ֥ג עַל־אֲפִֽיקֵי־מָ֑יִם כֵּ֤ן נַפְשִׁ֨י תַעֲרֹ֖ג אֵלֶ֣יךָ אֱלֹהִֽים׃

As a deer pants for channels of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

KJV As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

תַּעֲרֹג ta'arog
"pants" — to pant, to long for, to cry out, to gasp

This rare verb occurs only twice in the Hebrew Bible (here and Joel 1:20). It conveys desperate physical longing — the sound and action of a creature gasping for what it needs to survive. Its rarity makes it all the more arresting.

Translator Notes

  1. The Hebrew ayal is masculine ('stag, hart'), though many translations render it 'deer' generically. The LXX uses the feminine form (elaphos), and the Christian tradition has often depicted a female deer. The gender matters less than the image: a wild animal in extremity, reduced to its most basic need.
  2. The afiqe mayim ('channels of water') are not stagnant pools but flowing streams — the word afiq refers to a channel or riverbed where water runs. The psalmist does not want stored religion or past experience; he wants the living, moving presence of God.
Psalms 42:3

צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀ לֵאלֹהִים֮ לְאֵ֢ל חָ֫י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִֽים׃

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and see the face of God?

KJV My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase pene Elohim ('the face of God') was a technical term for the Temple experience. Deuteronomy 16:16 commands all males to 'appear before the face of the LORD' (yera'eh et pene YHVH) three times a year. The Masoretes repointed the verb from active ('see') to passive ('appear/be seen'), probably to avoid the theologically bold idea that a human could see God's face (cf. Exodus 33:20). The older, active reading preserves the psalmist's yearning: he wants to gaze upon God.
Psalms 42:4

הָיְתָה־לִּ֬י דִמְעָתִ֣י לֶ֭חֶם יוֹמָ֣ם וָלָ֑יְלָה בֶּאֱמֹ֥ר אֵ֝לַ֗י כׇּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אַיֵּ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃

My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

KJV My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The image of tears as bread (dim'ati lechem) inverts the normal sustenance of life — instead of eating food, the psalmist feeds on grief. The taunt ayyeh Elohekha ('where is your God?') is the cruelest question in the Psalter. It does not deny God's existence but mocks God's apparent indifference to the sufferer. The psalmist's exile from the Temple makes the question bite deeper: if God dwells in Zion and the psalmist cannot reach Zion, then the enemies' taunt has geographical force.
Psalms 42:5

אֵ֤לֶּה אֶזְכְּרָ֨ה ׀ וְאֶשְׁפְּכָ֬ה עָלַ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁ֗י כִּ֤י אֶֽעֱבֹ֨ר ׀ בַּסָּךְ֮ אֶדַּדֵּ֗ם עַד־בֵּ֥ית אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים בְּקוֹל־רִנָּ֥ה וְתוֹדָ֗ה הָמ֥וֹן חוֹגֵֽג׃

These things I remember, and I pour out my soul within me: how I used to walk with the throng, leading them in procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving — a multitude keeping festival.

KJV When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb eddaddem is difficult. It may derive from dadah ('to move slowly, to lead gently') and would mean 'I led them in slow procession.' Some relate it to dud ('a pot') and read 'I walked among them.' The overall picture is clear: the psalmist was once at the center of pilgrim worship, possibly as a levitical leader, and now he is cut off from it entirely.
Psalms 42:6

מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וַתֶּהֱמִ֢י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵ֭אלֹהִים כִּי־ע֥וֹד אוֹדֶ֗נּוּ יְשׁוּע֥וֹת פָּנָֽיו׃

Why are you cast down, my soul, and why do you groan within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise him — the salvation of his face.

KJV Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

תִּשְׁתּוֹחֲחִי tishtochachi
"cast down" — to bow down, to be depressed, to sink, to collapse, to be humbled

From shachach ('to bow low, to be abased'), the hitpolel form is reflexive and intensive — the soul is bowing itself down, collapsing inward. This is not external oppression but internal disintegration.

Translator Notes

  1. This refrain appears three times: here (42:6), at 42:12, and at 43:5. The slight variations between the three occurrences are theologically significant — by the third repetition in 43:5, the psalmist has added 'my God' (Elohai), moving from addressing God to claiming God as his own.
  2. yeshu'ot panav ('salvations of his face') is an unusual construct. panav ('his face') may function as the subject ('his face is salvation') or as the source ('salvation from his face/presence'). Either way, the psalmist locates deliverance in the direct, face-to-face encounter with God.
Psalms 42:7

אֱ֭לֹהַי עָלַ֣י נַפְשִׁ֣י תִשְׁתּוֹחָ֑ח עַל־כֵּ֤ן אֶ֝זְכׇּרְךָ֗ מֵאֶ֤רֶץ יַרְדֵּ֬ן וְחֶרְמוֹנִ֗ים מֵהַ֥ר מִצְעָֽר׃

My God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan and the Hermons, from Mount Mizar.

KJV O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The geography locates the psalmist precisely: the land of the Jordan (erets Yarden) near the Hermon range (chermonim, plural, referring to Hermon's multiple peaks) and har mits'ar ('Mount Mizar/the small mountain'). This places him in the far north of Israel, near the source of the Jordan River — as far from the Temple in Jerusalem as one could be while still within Israelite territory. mits'ar means 'smallness,' which may be a place name or a pointed contrast: the psalmist stands on a small, insignificant mountain, remembering the great mountain of Zion where God dwells.
Psalms 42:8

תְּהוֹם־אֶל־תְּה֣וֹם ק֭וֹרֵא לְק֣וֹל צִנּוֹרֶ֑יךָ כׇּֽל־מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְ֝גַלֶּ֗יךָ עָלַ֥י עָבָֽרוּ׃

Deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have swept over me.

KJV Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

תְּהוֹם tehom
"deep" — deep, abyss, primordial waters, ocean depths, the chaos-sea

tehom is the primordial deep of Genesis 1:2, the waters that precede and surround creation. In the Psalms, tehom represents overwhelming forces — cosmic, emotional, and spiritual — that threaten to swallow the sufferer. The plural tehomot appears in descriptions of the Exodus and the flood.

Translator Notes

  1. tehom ('deep, abyss') is cognate with the Babylonian Tiamat, the chaos-sea goddess. In Genesis 1:2, tehom is the formless deep over which God's spirit hovers. Here, one tehom calls to another — chaos communicates with chaos, and the psalmist is caught between them.
  2. The paradox of water in this psalm is striking: in verse 2, the psalmist thirsts for water like a deer. In verse 8, water overwhelms him. The same element he craves is the element destroying him — a profound image of how the encounter with God can be simultaneously longed-for and overwhelming.
Psalms 42:9

יוֹמָם ׀ יְצַוֶּ֬ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ חַסְדּ֗וֹ וּ֭בַלַּיְלָה שִׁיר֣וֹ עִמִּ֑י תְּ֝פִלָּ֗ה לְאֵ֣ל חַיָּֽי׃

By day the LORD commands his faithful love, and at night his song is with me — a prayer to the God of my life.

KJV Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חַסְדּוֹ chasdo
"his faithful love" — loyal love, covenant faithfulness, lovingkindness, steadfast love, mercy, devotion

chesed is the defining attribute of God's covenant character — love that is bound by promise, not merely feeling. It is the love that persists when circumstances collapse, the loyalty that holds when the other party fails. We render it 'faithful love' to capture both the affective and covenantal dimensions.

Translator Notes

  1. This is one of the few places in the Elohistic Psalter (42-83) where YHVH appears instead of Elohim, suggesting it survived the editorial substitution process. The phrase El chayyai ('God of my life') is intimate — not 'the living God' (El chai, v. 3) but 'the God who is the source of my specific, individual life.'
Psalms 42:10

אוֹמְרָ֤ה ׀ לְאֵ֥ל סַלְעִי֮ לָמָ֢ה שְׁכַ֫חְתָּ֥נִי לָֽמָּה־קֹדֵ֥ר אֵלֵ֗ךְ בְּלַ֣חַץ אוֹיֵֽב׃

I say to God my rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk in darkness under the pressure of the enemy?"

KJV I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The psalmist addresses God as sal'i ('my rock, my cliff, my crag') — a title of stability and protection — and then immediately accuses this rock of forgetting him. The juxtaposition is intentional: the one he calls 'rock' seems to have abandoned him. qoder ('dark, gloomy, in mourning') describes both the psalmist's emotional state and his outward appearance — the word suggests wearing mourning garments. lachats ('pressure, oppression, affliction') is a physical word: the enemy is pressing down on him.
Psalms 42:11

בְּרֶ֤צַח ׀ בְּֽעַצְמוֹתַ֗י חֵרְפ֥וּנִי צוֹרְרָ֑י בְּאׇמְרָ֥ם אֵ֝לַ֗י כׇּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אַיֵּ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃

Like a shattering blow to my bones, my adversaries taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

KJV As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word retsach ('murder, killing, crushing blow') is extreme — the enemies' taunts are not mere words but violence that penetrates to the bone. The repetition of ayyeh Elohekha ('where is your God?') from verse 4 shows that this mockery is relentless and central to the psalmist's suffering. The taunt strikes at the very thing the psalmist clings to — his relationship with God — and uses his exile from the Temple as evidence that God has abandoned him.
Psalms 42:12

מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י ׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וּמַה־תֶּהֱמִ֢י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵ֭אלֹהִים כִּי־ע֣וֹד אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ יְשׁוּע֥וֹת פָּ֝נַ֗י וֵאלֹהָֽי׃

Why are you cast down, my soul, and why do you groan within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise him — the salvation of my face and my God.

KJV Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The variation between verse 6 (panav, 'his face') and verse 12 (panai, 'my face') is debated. Some manuscripts read panav in both places. If panai is original, the meaning shifts: God is the salvation 'of my face' — meaning God restores the psalmist's countenance, lifting his bowed head. Either reading is powerful.
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