Psalm 42 is the 42nd psalm of the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of ...

, often known in English by its

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, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks" (in the

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). The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the

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. In the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 42 opens the

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of the five books (divisions) of Psalms, also known as the "Elohistic Psalter" because the word YHWH is rarely used and God is generally referred to as "

Elohim ''Elohim'' ( ) is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood". Although the word is plural in form, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity, particularly but not always the Go ...

". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek

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version of the bible, and generally in its Latin translations, this psalm is Psalm 41, although the Nova Vulgata translation follows the Hebrew numbering. The psalm is a hymn psalm. It is one of twelve psalms attributed to the sons of Korah. In Latin, its incipit in the Psalterium Gallicanum (the version in the Roman Breviary until the optional introduction of the '' Versio Piana'' in 1945) is ''Quemadmodum desiderat cervus''; but Sicut cervus in the '' Psalterium Romanum''. It begins "As pants the hart" in the English metrical version by Tate and Brady (1696) and in Coverdale's translation in the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

, "Like as the hart". The psalm forms a regular part of

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and other Protestant liturgies and has often been set to music, notably in Palestrina's '' Sicut cervus'', Handel's '' As pants the hart'' and Mendelssohn's '' Psalm 42''.

Background and themes

While the psalm is attributed to the " sons of Korah", the text is written in the first person singular. The psalm can be divided into two parts, each ending with the same line (verses 6 and 12 in the Hebrew). The psalmist bemoans all the troubles he has endured in his exile and prays for salvation. He laments his remoteness from the

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and expresses his desire for the renewal of the

divine presence Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology that deals with the ability of a deity to be "present" with human beings, sometimes associated with omnipresence. Conceptualiza ...

. Matthew Henry speculates that David might have composed this psalm when he was prevented from returning to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, either due to persecution by

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

or because of Absalom's revolt. Some ancient Hebrew manuscripts have this Psalm combined with Psalm 43, and C. S. Rodd argues on account of "similarities of thought and language" that these two psalms were originally one.

Uses

New Testament

The

rendering of some words in verse 5 shows close resemblance to the words of

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during the Agony in the Garden as recorded in Matthew or Mark . A part of the next verse in Greek also resembles what was spoken by Jesus during the same event, according to John .

Judaism

Sephardi Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

recite Psalm 42 on the first and second nights of

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prior to the evening prayer. Those who follow the custom of the Gra say Psalm 42 as the Song of the Day on the second day of Sukkot. Verse 2 is said during Selichot. Psalm 42 is one of the ten Psalms of the Tikkun HaKlali of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. This psalm is traditionally recited as a prayer for the end of the exile, and "to find favor in the eyes of others".

Church Fathers

In his discourse on this psalm, Saint

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

says that it corresponds to the longings of the Church.

Catholic Church

In the Rule of St. Benedict (530) this psalm was the fourth of those assigned to the second nocturn of Monday matins. In the Roman Breviary promulgated by Pope Pius V in 1568, it is the fourth in Tuesday matins. In the 1911 Reform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius X, it appears, divided into two parts, in Tuesday sext. In the post-

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it is the first psalm in

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on the Monday of the second of the four weeks over which the psalter is spread. In the

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, the responsorial psalm sung after a reading is several times composed of verses from this psalm, as at the

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and at Masses for the Dead.

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's ''

'', the text begins "Like as a hart". The psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the eighth day of the month.

Musical settings

Musical settings of the psalm include:

Classical

* Requiem by Ockeghem (15th century) * ''E'en like the hunted hind'': No. 5 from Tunes for Archbishop Parker's Psalter by

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (; also Tallys or Talles; 23 November 1585) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one ...

(1567) * ''Sicut cervus'' by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (16th century) * ''Quemadmodum desiderat cervus'' by Dietrich Buxtehude (17th century) * Loys Bourgeois used the tune for this psalm as a basis for the

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

tune 'Freu dich sehr o meine Seele'. *

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque music, Baroque composer and organ (music), organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of ...

wrote a setting of a paraphrase in German, "Gleich wie ein Hirsch eilt mit Begier", SWV 139, for the '' Becker Psalter'', published first in 1628. * In the 17th century, Michel Richard Delalande used it for a grand

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

. * Marc-Antoine Charpentier set in 1679–1680, ''Quemadmodum desiderat servus'' H.174, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and continuo. * Henry Desmarest set around 1700 un Grand Motet ''Quemadmodum desiderat servus''. * ''As pants the hart'' by Handel (18th century) * Chorale ''Was betrübst du dich'', movement 6 of '' Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21'', by Johann Sebastian Bach (18th century) * ''Psalm 42'' by Mendelssohn (19th century) * ''2e verset du 41me psaume (2e vt du 42e de la Vulgate)'' by Charles-Valentin Alkan (19th century) * ''Like as the hart'' by Herbert Howells (20th century) * ''As the Hart Panteth (Psalm 42)'' (1962, 1965; SATB 3' 20"), by Gloria Merle Huffman (1946–) (20th century) * ''Sicut Cervus'', 3-part a cappella piece by Laura Kranz * ''Quemadmodum'', a 6-part motet by John Taverner * " Like as the hart", setting the first seven verses from the

for choir

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, written by Judith Weir for the state funeral of Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022

Jewish

''K'ayal ta'arog'' (As the hart pants, verses 2–3) is a popular Jewish song. An early Hasidic nigun was composed by the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. The third Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (the Tzemach Tzedek) also composed a melody for it.

Text

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the

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text in the

and the English translation from the

. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the

Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

come from different textual traditions.A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the

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can be foun
here
o
here
and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be foun
here
Both translations are in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 41. The interpretation of the psalm's opening has been disputed for centuries. Jonathan Nathan argues that the traditional translation ("As the hart panteth after the water brooks") is based on an ancient but unsupported guess about the meaning of the rare Hebrew word תַּעֲרֹג. A better interpretation might be: "As you odturn a deer towards streams of water, so do you turn my soul towards yourself".

Notes

References

External links

* * * Text of Psalm 42 according to th
1928 Psalter

text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
Psalm 42 – The Assurance of those Who Trust in God
text and detailed commentary, enduringword.com
For the leader. A maskil of the Korahites. / As the deer longs for streams of water
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 42 / As the deer longs for the water brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Psalm 42
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 42
hymnary.org
Recording of a traditional Jewish melody for verses 2 and 3 on Zemirot Database
{{Psalms 042