Mazmur 42:1-2

Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42 ¹ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²  by the Korahites.

42:1 As a deer ³  longs ⁴  for streams of water,

so I long ⁵  for you, O God!

42:2 I thirst ⁶  for God,

for the living God.

I say, ⁷  “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” ⁸ 

Mazmur 84:2

84:2 I desperately want to be ⁹ 

in the courts of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁰ 

My heart and my entire being ¹¹  shout for joy

to the living God.

Mazmur 119:81

כ (Kaf)

119:81 I desperately long for ¹²  your deliverance.

I find hope in your word.

Mazmur 143:6

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ¹³ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ¹⁴  land. ¹⁵ 

[42:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.

[42:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[42:1]  ³ tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.

[42:1]  ⁴ tn Or “pants [with thirst].”

[42:1]  ⁵ tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[42:2]  ⁶ tn Or “my soul thirsts.”

[42:2]  ⁷ tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[42:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (’era’eh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (’er’eh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (’et) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).

[84:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”

[84:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).

[84:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.

[119:81]  ¹² tn Heb “my soul pines for.” See Ps 84:2.

[143:6]  ¹³ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).