1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
4 These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, How I went with the throng, and led them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday.
5 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 `For' the help of his countenance.
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: Therefore do I remember thee from the land of the Jordan, And the Hermons, from the hill Mizar.
7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8 `Yet' Jehovah will command his lovingkindness in the day-time; And in the night his song shall be with me, `Even' a prayer unto the God of my life.
9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
10 As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
11 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 help of my countenance, and my God.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Psalm 42 express?
What does the refrain 'Why art thou cast down, O my soul?' mean?
What does verse 1 compare the soul's thirst to?
Today's Verse
if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
Verse Of The DayTwice the psalmist questions his own despair, asking "why art thou cast down, O my soul?" before choosing to hope in God despite waves and billows going over him. That same yearning reappears in Psalms 63:1-2; step back to Psalms 41 or forward to Psalms 43.
