Psalm 42:title–49:20
Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?
42 To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of sthe Sons of Korah.
1 tAs a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 uMy soul thirsts for God,
for vthe living God.
When shall I come and wappear before God?2
3 xMy tears have been my food
day and night,
ywhile they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
as I zpour out my soul:
ahow I would go bwith the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
ca multitude keeping festival.
5 dWhy are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you ein turmoil within me?
fHope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation3 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I gremember you
hfrom the land of Jordan and of iHermon,
from Mount Mizar.
at the roar of your waterfalls;
jall your breakers and your kwaves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord lcommands his steadfast love,
and at mnight his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, nmy rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
oWhy do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
pwhile they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 qWhy are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Send Out Your Light and Your Truth
43 rVindicate me, O God, and sdefend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from tthe deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
2 For you are uthe God in whom I take refuge;
why have you vrejected me?
Why do I wgo about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 xSend out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your yholy hill
and to your zdwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 aWhy are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
bHope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
44 To the choirmaster. cA Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah.
1 O God, we have heard with our ears,
dour fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
ein the days of old:
2 you with your own hand fdrove out the nations,
but gthem you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but hthem you set free;
3 for not iby their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and jthe light of your face,
kfor you delighted in them.
4 lYou are my King, O God;
mordain salvation for Jacob!
5 Through you we npush down our foes;
through your name we otread down those who rise up against us.
6 For not in pmy bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
and have qput to shame those who hate us.
8 rIn God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 But you have srejected us and disgraced us
and thave not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us uturn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like vsheep for slaughter
and have wscattered us among the nations.
12 xYou have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us ythe taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and zscorn of those around us.
14 You have made us aa byword among the nations,
ba laughingstock2 among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and cshame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of dthe enemy and the avenger.
17 eAll this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our fsteps gdeparted from your way;
19 yet you have hbroken us in the place of ijackals
and covered us with jthe shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or kspread out our hands to la foreign god,
21 mwould not God discover this?
nFor he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet ofor your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 pAwake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! qDo not reject us forever!
24 Why rdo you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our ssoul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; tcome to our help!
uRedeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Your Throne, O God, Is Forever
45 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil1 of vthe Sons of Korah; a love song.
1 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of wa ready scribe.
2 You are xthe most handsome of the sons of men;
ygrace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 zGird your asword on your thigh, O bmighty one,
in cyour splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty dride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you eawesome deeds!
in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6 fYour throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The gscepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 hyou have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore iGod, your God, has janointed you
with the oil of kgladness lbeyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with mmyrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces nstringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
oat your right hand stands the queen in pgold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your qlord, rbow to him.
12 The people2 of Tyre will sseek your favor with tgifts,
13 All glorious is vthe princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14 wIn many-colored robes xshe is led to the king,
with her virgin companions following behind her.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.
16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
you will make them yprinces in all the earth.
17 zI will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.
46 To the choirmaster. Of athe Sons of Korah. According to bAlamoth.1 A Song.
1 God is our crefuge and strength,
a very dpresent2 help in etrouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear fthough the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into gthe heart of the sea,
3 though hits waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is ia river whose streams make glad jthe city of God,
the holy khabitation of the Most High.
5 lGod is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 mThe nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he nutters his voice, the earth omelts.
7 pThe Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 qCome, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 rHe makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he sbreaks the bow and shatters the spear;
the burns the chariots with fire.
10 u“Be still, and know that I am God.
vI will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 pThe Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
God Is King over All the Earth
47 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of wthe Sons of Korah.
1 xClap your hands, all peoples!
yShout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, zis to be feared,
aa great king over all the earth.
3 He bsubdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our cheritage for us,
dthe pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God ehas gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is fthe King of all the earth;
8 God hreigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
9 iThe princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For jthe shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!
48 A Song. A Psalm of kthe Sons of Korah.
1 lGreat is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in mthe city of our God!
His nholy mountain, 2 obeautiful in elevation,
is pthe joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
qthe city of the great King.
has made himself known as a fortress.
4 For behold, rthe kings assembled;
they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
they were in panic; they took to flight.
6 sTrembling took hold of them there,
anguish tas of a woman in labor.
7 By uthe east wind you vshattered
the ships of wTarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in mthe city of our God,
which God will xestablish forever. Selah
9 We have thought on your ysteadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
10 As your zname, O God,
so your praise reaches to athe ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount bZion be glad!
Let bthe daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!
12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
number her towers,
13 consider well her cramparts,
go through her citadels,
dthat you may tell the next generation
our God forever and ever.
Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?
49 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of fthe Sons of Korah.
1 gHear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 hboth low and high,
rich and poor together!
3 My mouth shall speak iwisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to ja proverb;
I will solve my kriddle to the music of the lyre.