Discovery BoxPsalms 42:1-11 
ContextBook 2
(Psalms 42-72)
For the music director; a well-written song 2 by the Korahites.
42:1 As a deer 3 longs 4 for streams of water,
so I long 5 for you, O God!
for the living God.
I say, 7 “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” 8
42:3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night; 9
all day long they say to me, 10 “Where is your God?”
42:4 I will remember and weep! 11
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival. 12
42:5 Why are you depressed, 13 O my soul? 14
Why are you upset? 15
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 16
so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, 18
from Hermon, 19 from Mount Mizar. 20
42:7 One deep stream calls out to another 21 at the sound of your waterfalls; 22
all your billows and waves overwhelm me. 23
42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, 24
and by night he gives me a song, 25
a prayer 26 to the living God.
42:9 I will pray 27 to God, my high ridge: 28
“Why do you ignore 29 me?
Why must I walk around mourning 30
because my enemies oppress me?”
42:10 My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone, 31
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 32
42:11 Why are you depressed, 33 O my soul? 34
Why are you upset? 35
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 36
Psalms 107:1-43
ContextBook 5
(Psalms 107-150)
107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures! 38
107:2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out, 39
those whom he delivered 40 from the power 41 of the enemy,
107:3 and gathered from foreign lands, 42
from east and west,
from north and south.
107:4 They wandered through the wilderness on a desert road;
they found no city in which to live.
107:5 They were hungry and thirsty;
they fainted from exhaustion. 43
107:6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:7 He led them on a level road, 44
that they might find a city in which to live.
107:8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 45
107:9 For he has satisfied those who thirst, 46
and those who hunger he has filled with food. 47
107:10 They sat in utter darkness, 48
bound in painful iron chains, 49
107:11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands, 50
and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king. 51
107:12 So he used suffering to humble them; 52
they stumbled and no one helped them up.
107:13 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:14 He brought them out of the utter darkness, 53
and tore off their shackles.
107:15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 54
107:16 For he shattered the bronze gates,
and hacked through the iron bars. 55
107:17 They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, 56
and suffered because of their sins.
107:18 They lost their appetite for all food, 57
and they drew near the gates of death.
107:19 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:20 He sent them an assuring word 58 and healed them;
he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped. 59
107:21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 60
107:22 Let them present thank offerings,
and loudly proclaim what he has done! 61
107:23 62 Some traveled on 63 the sea in ships,
and carried cargo over the vast waters. 64
107:24 They witnessed the acts of the Lord,
his amazing feats on the deep water.
107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, 65
and it stirred up the waves of the sea. 66
107:26 They 67 reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength 68 left them 69 because the danger was so great. 70
107:27 They swayed 71 and staggered like a drunk,
and all their skill proved ineffective. 72
107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:29 He calmed the storm, 73
and the waves 74 grew silent.
107:30 The sailors 75 rejoiced because the waves 76 grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor 77 they desired.
107:31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 78
107:32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people!
Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside! 79
107:33 He turned 80 streams into a desert,
springs of water into arid land,
107:34 and a fruitful land into a barren place, 81
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
107:35 As for his people, 82 he turned 83 a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
107:36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,
and they established a city in which to live.
107:37 They cultivated 84 fields,
and planted vineyards,
which yielded a harvest of fruit. 85
107:38 He blessed 86 them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. 87
107:39 As for their enemies, 88 they decreased in number and were beaten down,
because of painful distress 89 and suffering.
107:40 He would pour 90 contempt upon princes,
and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
107:41 Yet he protected 91 the needy from oppression,
and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.
107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,
and every sinner 92 shuts his mouth.
107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!
1 sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew
2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
3 tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.
4 tn Or “pants [with thirst].”
5 tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
6 tn Or “my soul thirsts.”
7 tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
8 tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (’era’eh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (’er’eh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (’et) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).
9 tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”
10 tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (be’ÿmor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (bÿ’omram, “when they say”) in v. 10.
11 tn Heb “These things I will remember and I will pour out upon myself my soul.” “These things” are identified in the second half of the verse as those times when the psalmist worshiped in the
12 tc Heb “for I was passing by with the throng [?], I was walking with [?] them to the house of God; with a voice of a ringing shout and thanksgiving a multitude was observing a festival.” The Hebrew phrase בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם (bassakh ’eddaddem, “with the throng [?] I was walking with [?]”) is particularly problematic. The noun סָךְ (sakh) occurs only here. If it corresponds to הָמוֹן (hamon, “multitude”) then one can propose a meaning “throng.” The present translation assumes this reading (cf. NIV, NRSV). The form אֶדַּדֵּם (“I will walk with [?]”) is also very problematic. The form can be taken as a Hitpael from דָּדָה (dadah; this verb possibly appears in Isa 38:15), but the pronominal suffix is problematic. For this reason many emend the form to ם[י]אַדִּרִ (’adirim, “nobles”) or ם-רִ[י]אַדִ (’adirim, “great,” with enclitic mem [ם]). The present translation understands the latter and takes the adjective “great” as modifying “throng.” If one emends סָךְ (sakh, “throng [?]”) to סֹךְ (sokh, “shelter”; see the Qere of Ps 27:5), then ר[י]אַדִּ (’addir) could be taken as a divine epithet, “[in the shelter of] the majestic one,” a reading which may find support in the LXX and Syriac Peshitta.
13 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
14 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
15 tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.
16 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (’elohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pÿney, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.
17 tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.
18 tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.
19 tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.
20 tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.
21 tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).
22 tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.
23 tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.
24 sn The psalmist believes that the Lord has not abandoned him, but continues to extend his loyal love. To this point in the psalm, the author has used the name “God,” but now, as he mentions the divine characteristic of loyal love, he switches to the more personal divine name Yahweh (rendered in the translation as “the
25 tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”
26 tc A few medieval Hebrew
27 tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.
28 tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.
29 tn Or “forget.”
30 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.
31 tc Heb “with a shattering in my bones my enemies taunt me.” A few medieval Hebrew
32 sn “Where is your God?” The enemies ask this same question in v. 3.
33 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
34 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
35 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
36 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.
37 sn Psalm 107. The psalmist praises God for his kindness to his exiled people.
38 tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.”
39 tn Or “let the redeemed of the
40 tn Or “redeemed.”
41 tn Heb “hand.”
42 tn Heb “from lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
43 tn Heb “and their soul in them fainted.”
44 sn A level road. See Jer 31:9.
45 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.”
46 tn Heb “[the] longing throat.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), which frequently refers to one’s very being or soul, here probably refers to one’s parched “throat” (note the parallelism with נֶפֱשׁ רְעֵבָה, nefesh rÿ’evah, “hungry throat”).
47 tn Heb “and [the] hungry throat he has filled [with] good.”
48 tn Heb “those who sat in darkness and deep darkness.” Synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of “darkness” experienced by the exiles. The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet, “deep darkness”) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל + מָוֶת [tsel + mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other authorities prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 107:10 the word refers metonymically to a dungeon, which in turn metaphorically depicts the place of Israel’s exile (see vv. 2-3).
49 tn Heb “those bound in suffering and iron.” “Suffering and iron” is a hendiadys (like English “good and angry”), where both words contribute to one idea. In this case the first word characterizes the second; the iron (chains) contribute to the prisoners’ pain and suffering.
50 tn Heb “the words of God.”
51 tn Heb “the counsel of the Most High.”
52 tn Heb “and he subdued with suffering their heart.”
53 tn Heb “darkness and deep darkness.” See the note on the word “darkness” in v. 10.
54 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.
55 sn The language of v. 16 recalls Isa 45:2.
56 tn Heb “fools [they were] because of the way of their rebellion.”
57 tn Heb “all food their appetite loathed.”
58 tn Heb “he sent his word.” This probably refers to an oracle of assurance which announced his intention to intervene (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 59).
59 tn Heb “he rescued from their traps.” The Hebrew word שְׁחִית (shekhit, “trap”) occurs only here and in Lam 4:20, where it refers to a trap or pit in which one is captured. Because of the rarity of the term and the absence of an object with the verb “rescued,” some prefer to emend the text of Ps 107:20, reading מִשַׁחַת חַיָּתָם (mishakhat khayyatam, “[he rescued] their lives from the pit”). Note also NIV “from the grave,” which interprets the “pit” as Sheol or the grave.
60 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.
61 tn Heb “and let them proclaim his works with a ringing cry.”
62 sn Verses 23-30, which depict the Lord rescuing sailors from a storm at sea, do not seem to describe the exiles’ situation, unless the word picture is metaphorical. Perhaps the psalmist here broadens his scope and offers an example of God’s kindness to the needy beyond the covenant community.
63 tn Heb “those going down [into].”
64 tn Heb “doers of work on the mighty waters.”
65 tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”
66 tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”
67 tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).
68 tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
69 tn Or “melted.”
70 tn Heb “from danger.”
71 tn Only here does the Hebrew verb חָגַג (khagag; normally meaning “to celebrate”) carry the nuance “to sway.”
72 tn The Hitpael of בָלַע (vala’) occurs only here in the OT. Traditionally the form is derived from the verbal root בלע (“to swallow”), but HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע understands a homonym here with the meaning “to be confused.”
73 tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”
74 tn Heb “their waves.” The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not readily apparent, unless it refers back to “waters” in v. 23.
75 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
76 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
77 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.
78 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.
79 tn Heb “in the seat of the elders.”
80 tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. (The use of prefixed forms with vav [ו] consecutive in vv. 36-37 favor this.) The psalmist may return to the theme of God’s intervention for the exiles (see vv. 4-22, especially vv. 4-9). However, many regard vv. 33-41 as a hymnic description which generalizes about God’s activities among men. In this case it would be preferable to use the English present tense throughout (cf. NEB, NRSV).
81 tn Heb “a salty land.”
82 tn The words “As for his people” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. The psalmist contrasts God’s judgment on his enemies with his blessing of his people. See the note on the word “enemies” in v. 39 for further discussion.
83 tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. See the note on the word “turned” in v. 33.
84 tn Heb “sowed seed in.”
85 tn Heb “fruit [as] produce.”
86 tn “Bless” here carries the nuance “endue with sexual potency, make fertile.” See Gen 1:28, where the statement “he blessed them” directly precedes the command “be fruitful and populate the earth” (see also 1:22). The verb “bless” carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).
87 tn The verbal form in this line appears to be an imperfect, which may be taken as customary (drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame) or as generalizing (in which case one should use the English present tense, understanding a move from narrative to present reality).
88 tn The words “As for their enemies” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Without such clarification, one might think that v. 39 refers to those just mentioned in v. 38 as objects of divine blessing, which would contradict the point just emphasized by the psalmist. The structure of vv. 33-42 is paneled (A-B-A-B). In vv. 33-34 the psalmist describes God’s judgment upon his enemies (perhaps those who had enslaved his people). In vv. 35-38 he contrasts this judgment with the divine blessing poured out on God’s people. (See the note on the word “people” in v. 35.) In vv. 39-40 he contrasts this blessing with the judgment experienced by enemies, before returning in vv. 41-42 to the blessing experienced by God’s people.
89 tn Heb “from the oppression of calamity.”
90 tn The active participle is understood as past durative here, drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame. However, it could be taken as generalizing (in which case one should translate using the English present tense), in which case the psalmist moves from narrative to present reality. Perhaps the participial form appears because the statement is lifted from Job 12:21.
91 tn Heb “set on high.”
92 tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.
