Psalms 42:1-3

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 

42:3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night; ⁹ 

all day long they say to me, ¹⁰  “Where is your God?”

Psalms 63:1-3

Psalm 63 ¹¹ 

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. ¹² 

63:1 O God, you are my God! I long for you! ¹³ 

My soul thirsts ¹⁴  for you,

my flesh yearns for you,

in a dry and parched ¹⁵  land where there is no water.

63:2 Yes, ¹⁶  in the sanctuary I have seen you, ¹⁷ 

and witnessed ¹⁸  your power and splendor.

63:3 Because ¹⁹  experiencing ²⁰  your loyal love is better than life itself,

my lips will praise you.

Psalms 77:1-3

Psalm 77 ²¹ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

77:1 I will cry out to God ²²  and call for help!

I will cry out to God and he will pay attention ²³  to me.

77:2 In my time of trouble I sought ²⁴  the Lord.

I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. ²⁵ 

I ²⁶  refused to be comforted.

77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;

I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” ²⁷  (Selah)

Psalms 119:81-83

כ (Kaf)

119:81 I desperately long for ²⁸  your deliverance.

I find hope in your word.

119:82 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. ²⁹ 

I say, ³⁰  “When will you comfort me?”

119:83 For ³¹  I am like a wineskin ³²  dried up in smoke. ³³ 

I do not forget your statutes.

[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).

[42:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”

[42:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (be’ÿmor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (bÿ’omram, “when they say”) in v. 10.

[63:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 63. The psalmist expresses his intense desire to be in God’s presence and confidently affirms that God will judge his enemies.

[63:1]  ¹² sn According to the psalm superscription David wrote the psalm while in the “wilderness of Judah.” Perhaps this refers to the period described in 1 Sam 23-24 or to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam 15:23.

[63:1]  ¹³ tn Or “I will seek you.”

[63:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “I thirst.”

[63:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” This may picture the land as “faint” or “weary,” or it may allude to the effect this dry desert has on those who are forced to live in it.

[63:2]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

[63:2]  ¹⁷ tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

[63:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[63:3]  ¹⁹ tn This line is understood as giving the basis for the praise promised in the following line. Another option is to take the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) as asseverative/emphasizing, “Indeed, your loyal love is better” (cf. NEB, which leaves the particle untranslated).

[63:3]  ²⁰ tn The word “experiencing” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist does not speak here of divine loyal love in some abstract sense, but of loyal love revealed and experienced.

[77:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.

[77:1]  ²² tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.

[77:1]  ²³ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).

[77:2]  ²⁴ tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

[77:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

[77:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “my soul.” 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).

[77:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).

[119:81]  ²⁸ tn Heb “my soul pines for.” See Ps 84:2.

[119:82]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my eyes fail for your word.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See Ps 69:3.

[119:82]  ³⁰ tn Heb “saying.”

[119:83]  ³¹ tn Or “even though.”

[119:83]  ³² tn The Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20).

[119:83]  ³³ tn Heb “in the smoke.”