# Psalms 63.1
**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · NASB95
## Immediate context (±2 verses)
**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> **1. A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; earnestly will I seek thee: My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, In a dry and weary land, where no water is.**
>
> 2. So have I looked upon thee in the sanctuary, To see thy power and thy glory. 3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise thee. (Psalms 63:1-3, ASV)
**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> **1. A Psalm by David, when he was in the desert of Judah. God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.**
>
> 2. So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory. 3. Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. (Psalms 63:1-3, WEB)
**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> **1. A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; thirsty: Heb. weary where: without water**
>
> 2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. 3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. (Psalms 63:1-3, KJV)
**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> **1. A Psalm of David, in his being in the wilderness of Judah. O God, Thou [art] my God, earnestly do I seek Thee, Thirsted for Thee hath my soul, Longed for Thee hath my flesh, In a land dry and weary, without waters.**
>
> 2. So in the sanctuary I have seen Thee, To behold Thy strength and Thine honour. 3. Because better [is] Thy kindness than life, My lips do praise Thee. (Psalms 63:1-3, YLT)
## Setting
- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_
## Theological reading
_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._
## Key words
_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
## Quoted in
**Arguments and defeaters:**
- [Argument from Desire](/codex/argument-from-desire/)
---
_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_
## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.