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42 ‎[1] **For the chief musician, a contemplation**,** by the sons of Korah.** An alternative translation is “for the sons of Korah,” meaning that the song was composed by someone else and given to them to sing.** **
‎[2] **As a deer longs for brooks of water, so my soul longs for You, God. **The rare verb *ta’arog*, translated here as “longs,” can also refer to the craving sound made by a deer. In either case the sense is the same.** **
‎[3] **My soul thirsts for God, the living God Almighty. When will I come **to God’s Temple **and** **appear before God’s countenance? **The Torah refers to a visit to the House of God as “appearing before God’s countenance.”
‎[4] The psalmist describes his feelings when he is distant from God’s Temple, or even in exile in a foreign land:** My tears have been my bread, **they are as common to me as my daily food, **day and night,** **when they, **my enemies,** say to me all day long: Where is your God?**
‎[5] **These things I remember, and pour out my soul: When I used to go with a throng of people in a procession to the House of God, a celebrating multitude with voice of song and thanksgiving. **
‎[6] The psalmist returns to speaking of his feelings while in exile. Addressing himself, he asks:* ***Why, my soul, are you stooped over,** downcast?** Why do you sigh for me? Have hope in God, for I will yet **be saved by Him and **thank Him for the salvation of His presence.**
‎[7] **My God, my soul is stooped over,** downcast;** thus I recall You from the lands of Jordan and the Hermons,**** **the territories where the sources of the Jordan River are located, near Mount Hermon, **from Mount Mitzar,**** **apparently a mountain in that northern area.
‎[8] **Deep calls to deep, **one body of abundant water calls to another, as it were,** in the sound of Your waterways. **For the psalmist, the sound of cascading water is evocative of sadness.** All Your breakers and waves have passed over me,** as if signifying my being overrun with torrents of troubles.** **
‎[9] The psalmist expresses his devotion and hope: **The Lord commands His kindness **to me **by day, **so that **His song, **the song of prayer that I sing to Him,** remains with me by night, a prayer to the Almighty God of my life. **
‎[10] In that prayer **I will say to God Almighty, my rock: Why have You forgotten me? Why do I walk in gloom, oppressed by the enemy? **
‎[11] **I feel murder in my bones, **like actually being stabbed in my bones, **as my foes** **ridicule me with their taunts, saying to me all day long: Where is your God? **There is nothing more painful to me than this scornful question.
‎[12] The psalmist again addresses his soul: **Why, my soul, are you stooped over **and** **downcast?** Why do you sigh for me? **Rather, **have hope in God*****,*** **for I will **be saved by Him and **thank Him again; **I will thank Him, **my salvation and my God,** before He even redeems me, and again when He comes to my aid.** **
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center