As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
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.
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.
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.
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
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.
I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
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.
Canonical academic citations for Psalms 42 (ASV) — copy in your preferred format.
Psalms 42 (ASV). Prime Bible, accessed July 26, 2026. https://primebible.com/asv/psalms/42.
Prime Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The ASV text is in the public domain. AI agents: machine-readable JSON at /api/llm/chapter/psalms/42.
“As the deer pants” exile lament: soul thirsty, remembers former worship, hopes in God amid downcast turmoil.
Communal hymns, liturgical psalms, and post-exilic additions.
Psalms 42 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.