Psalms 42:1–11, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Psalms 42:1–11
Thirsting for God while tears persist
A deer at the brook, and tears that have become food
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. The speaker thirsts for the living God and asks when he will come and appear before God. Meanwhile tears have been his meat day and night, and a taunt keeps time with the weeping: Where is thy God?
The poem is Korahite lament, not a diagnosis. Thirst, memory of festival processions to the house of God, and the geography of Jordan, Hermon, and the hill Mizar locate a person who can remember worship and cannot presently reach it. The body is in the prayer: panting, tears, a roaring deep, waves and billows going over him.
The soul is addressed twice, and neither speech ends the downcast state
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God. The refrain returns at the close, still naming the same cast-down soul, still promising praise that has not yet arrived. Hope is spoken to a self that remains thirsty.
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts. Lovingkindness is remembered by day and a song in the night, yet enemies pierce like a sword in the bones with the same taunt. The psalm does not shame depression, call tears unbelief, or set a recovery clock. It lets thirst and praise-talk occupy one mouth.
How this should shape us
Stay with a downcast person without demanding cheer on a timetable. Keep food, rest, worship access, companionship, and mental-health care in reach. Do not treat tears, taunts, or a delayed visit to God's house as proof of weak faith.
Teach it back
Explain Psalms 42:1–11 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 42 and Book II, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
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Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Psalms 42:1–11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 42:1–11
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 42:1–11.
Official NET Bible Psalm 42 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 42:1–11
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 42:1–11
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 42 for Psalms 42:1–11
Supports: Communication safeguards against romanticizing, sensationalizing, diagnosing, blaming, or simplifying despair, isolation, death wishes, and severe loss; not exegesis.
WHO, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023, quick guide p. xiii and dos and don'ts pp. 11–16; applied only to modern safety-aware presentation of Psalms 42:1–11
Sources for This Section
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Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 42:1–11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 42:1–11
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 42:1–11.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 42 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 42:1–11
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 42:1–11
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 42 for Psalms 42:1–11
Open NETS Psalms ↗public health communication guidance
Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023
World Health Organization
World Health Organization, 2023
Supports: Communication safeguards against romanticizing, sensationalizing, diagnosing, blaming, or simplifying despair, isolation, death wishes, and severe loss; not exegesis.
Exact location: WHO, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023, quick guide p. xiii and dos and don'ts pp. 11–16; applied only to modern safety-aware presentation of Psalms 42:1–11
Open the WHO communication guide ↗