Psalms 42.1

type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: Psalms chapter: 42 verses: "1" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 1 enriched: false

Quoted in

Psalms 42.1

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. ^{For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah.} As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God."

"2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God? 3. My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalms 42:1-3, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God."

"2. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? 3. My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”" (Psalms 42:1-3, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. ^{Maschil: or, A Psalm giving instruction of the sons, etc} ^{panteth: Heb. brayeth}"

"2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3. My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalms 42:1-3, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. To the Overseer., An Instruction. By sons of Korah. As a hart doth pant for streams of water, So my soul panteth toward Thee, O God."

"2. My soul thirsted for God, for the living God, When do I enter and see the face of God? 3. My tear hath been to me bread day and night, In their saying unto me all the day, 'Where [is] thy God?'" (Psalms 42:1-3, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
Audience: worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
Location: Israel, various periods
Time period: composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H0430 - elohim, elohim (Strong's H430). Also appears in: Genesis 1.1, Genesis 1.2, Genesis 1.14-19.
H1121 - ben, ben (Strong's H1121). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 4.26, Genesis 6.2.
H5315 - nephesh, nephesh (Strong's H5315). Also appears in: Genesis 1.21, Genesis 1.24-28, Genesis 2.7.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.