Previous Chapter Full Page Full Page Next Chapter

Psalm 42 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

Book Two: Psalms 42—72
Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses
Psa 42:1To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation[fn] of the sons of Korah.

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
Psa 42:2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?[fn]
Psa 42:3My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”
Psa 42:4When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
Psa 42:5Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.[fn]
Psa 42:6O my God,[fn] my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From the Hill Mizar.
Psa 42:7Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
Psa 42:8The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.
Psa 42:9I will say to God my Rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
Psa 42:10As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Psa 42:11Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
NKJV Footnotes
Hebrew Maschil
Following Masoretic Text and Vulgate; some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, and Targum read I see the face of God.
Following Masoretic Text and Targum; a few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read The help of my countenance, my God.
Following Masoretic Text and Targum; a few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate put my God at the end of verse 5.
Translation Copyright Logo

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

Psalm Chapter 42 — Additional Translations: