Psalms 42:1

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!

Jeremiah 14:6

14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops

and pant for breath like jackals.

Their eyes are strained looking for food,

because there is none to be found.” ⁶ 

Joel 1:18-20

1:18 Listen to the cattle groan! ⁷ 

The herds of livestock wander around in confusion ⁸ 

because they have no pasture.

Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

1:19 To you, O Lord, I call out for help, ⁹ 

for fire ¹⁰  has burned up ¹¹  the grassy pastures, ¹² 

flames have razed ¹³  all the trees in the fields.

1:20 Even the wild animals ¹⁴  cry out to you; ¹⁵ 

for the river beds ¹⁶  have dried up;

fire has destroyed ¹⁷  the grassy pastures. ¹⁸ 

[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).

[14:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “their eyes are strained because there is no verdure.”

[1:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “how the cattle groan!”

[1:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “the herds of cattle are confused.” The verb בּוּךְ (bukh, “be confused”) sometimes refers to wandering aimlessly in confusion (cf. Exod 14:3).

[1:19]  ⁹ tn The phrase “for help” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:19]  ¹⁰ sn Fire here and in v. 20 is probably not to be understood in a literal sense. The locust plague, accompanied by conditions of extreme drought, has left the countryside looking as though everything has been burned up (so also in Joel 2:3).

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “consumed.” This entire line is restated at the end of v. 20.

[1:19]  ¹² tn Heb “the pastures of the wilderness.”

[1:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “a flame has set ablaze.” This fire was one of the effects of the drought.

[1:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “beasts of the field.”

[1:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “long for you.” Animals of course do not have religious sensibilities as such; they do not in any literal sense long for Yahweh. Rather, the language here is figurative (metonymy of cause for effect). The animals long for food and water (so BDB 788 s.v. עָרַג), the ultimate source of which is Yahweh.

[1:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sources of water.”

[1:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “consumed.”

[1:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the pastures of the wilderness.”