God’s Word Translation
Psalms 42:2
2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When may I come to see God’s face?
Psalms 42:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
- New International Version (NIV)My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
- English Standard Version (ESV)My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
- New King James Version (NKJV)My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
Context of Psalms 42:2
1As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When may I come to see God’s face? 3My tears are my food day and night. People ask me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4I will remember these things as I pour out my soul: how I used to walk with the crowd and lead it in a procession to God’s house. ⌞I sang⌟ songs of joy and thanksgiving while crowds of people celebrated a festival.
Read all of Psalms 42Psalms 42:2 word by word
צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י׀ לֵאלֹהִים֮ לְאֵ֪ל חָ֥י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 42:2
- Psalms 36:8They are refreshed with the rich foods in your house, and you make them drink from the river of your pleasure.
- Psalms 63:1O God, you are my God. At dawn I search for you. My soul thirsts for you. My body longs for you in a dry, parched land where there is no water.
- John 7:37On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus was standing ⌞in the temple courtyard⌟. He said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty must come to me to drink.
- Revelation 22:1The angel showed me a river filled with the water of life, as clear as crystal. It was flowing from the throne of God and the lamb.
- Job 23:3“If only I knew where I could find God! I would go where he lives.
- Jeremiah 2:13“My people have done two things wrong. They have abandoned me, the fountain of life-giving water. They have also dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
- Jeremiah 10:10But the Lord is the only God. He is the living God and eternal king. The earth trembles when he is angry. The nations can’t endure his fury.
- John 5:26The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9They talk about how you welcomed us when we arrived. They even report how you turned away from false gods to serve the real, living God
- Psalms 27:4I have asked one thing from the Lord. This I will seek: to remain in the Lord’s house all the days of my life in order to gaze at the Lord’s beauty and to search for an answer in his temple.
- Psalms 84:4Blessed are those who live in your house. They are always praising you. Selah
Commentaries on Psalms 42:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2When shall I come - When, when shall I have the privilege of appearing in his courts before God? In the mouth of a Christian these words would import: "When shall I see my heavenly country? When shall I come to God, the Judge of all, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant?" He who is a stranger and a pilgrim here below, and feels a heart full of piety to God, may use these words in this sense; but he who feels himself here at home, whose soul is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2My soul thirsteth for God - That is, as the hind thirsts for the running stream. For the living God - God, not merely as God, without anything more definitely specified, but God considered as living, as himself possessing life, and as having the power of imparting that life to the soul. When shall I come and appear before God? - That is, as I have been accustomed to do in the sanctuary. When shall I be restored to the privilege of again uniting with his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4The psalmist's deep desire for God arises from being far away from the temple as he remembers the past. The verb translated as "longs" appears only here and in Joel 1:20 (meaning "cry out"). In both instances, it describes extreme thirst in a dry desert (see Psalms 63:1; 143:6; see also 84:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-111-2. Compare (Psa 63:1). panteth--desires in a state of exhaustion.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 42:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 42
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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