To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so my soul panteth 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 to me, Where is thy God?
When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy-day.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in 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 will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
Deep calleth to deep at the noise of thy water-spouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
Yet the LORD will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to 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, my enemies reproach me; while they say daily to 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 health of my countenance, and my God.
Canonical academic citations for Psalms 42 (WBT) — copy in your preferred format.
Psalms 42 (WBT). Prime Bible, accessed June 13, 2026. https://primebible.com/wbt/psalms/42.
Prime Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The WBT 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.