As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
- BSB For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- NKJV As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
- NASB As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
As a deer pants for water, the psalmist's soul longs for God. Deep spiritual thirst for God's presence drives this psalm.
Overview
This contemplation of the sons of Korah opens with one of Scripture's most vivid images of spiritual desire. Separated from worship, the psalmist yearns for God Himself. Such thirst is satisfied only in the living God, and ultimately in Christ who gives living water (John 4:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 63:1–2A 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.
- Ps 143:6–7I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.
- Ps 119:131I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for your commandments.
- Isa 26:8–9Yes, in the way of your judgments, Yahweh, have we waited for you. Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul.
- Ps 84:1–2For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies!
- Ps 48:1A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
- Ps 46:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
- Ps 85:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Yahweh, you have been favorable to your land. You have restored the fortunes of Jacob.
- Ps 47:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Oh clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
- Ps 45:1For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A contemplation by the sons of Korah. A wedding song. My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
- Ps 44:1For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm. We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work you did in their days, in the days of old.
- Ps 49:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
- Num 16:32The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods.
- 1 Chr 25:1–5Moreover, David and the captains of the army set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with harps, with stringed instruments, and with cymbals. The number of those who did the work according to their service was:
- Num 16:1Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took some men.
- 1 Chr 6:33–37These are those who served, and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,
- Num 26:11Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah didn’t die.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 42:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.