Psalms 42:3

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀ לֵאלֹהִים֮ לְאֵ֢ל חָ֥י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִֽים׃

Transliteration

ṣāmʾâ napšî to-ʾĕlōhîm to-ʾēl ḥay when ʾābôʾ wə-ʾērāʾeh pənê ʾĕlōhîm

Grammar Details

*ṣāmʾâ*: verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular - 'thirsts'
*napšî*: noun, feminine singular with 1st person singular possessive suffix - 'my soul'
*ʾĕlōhîm*: noun, masculine plural with prefixed preposition lamed - 'to/for God'
*ʾēl*: noun, masculine singular with prefixed preposition lamed - 'to/for God'
*ḥay*: adjective, masculine singular - 'living'
*ʾābôʾ*: verb, qal imperfect, 1st person singular - 'I will come/enter'
*wə*: conjunction - 'and'
*ʾērāʾeh*: verb, niphal imperfect, 1st person singular - 'I will appear/be seen'
*pənê*: noun, masculine plural construct - 'face of/presence of'

Word Meanings

*ṣāmʾâ*: thirsts/is thirsty
*napšî*: my soul/my being/myself
*ʾĕlōhîm*: God/gods (plural form used for singular deity)
*ʾēl*: God/deity/mighty one
*ḥay*: living/alive
*pənê*: face of/presence of/before

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ps 79:10 : 10 Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight.
Ps 80:5 : 5 Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure.
Ps 102:9 : 9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping,
Ps 115:2 : 2 Wherefore should the nations say, Where is now their God?
Ps 42:10 : 10 As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
Joel 2:17 : 17 Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, and give not thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
Mic 7:10 : 10 Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall see [my desire] upon her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
Ps 79:12 : 12 And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
2 Sam 16:12 : 12 It may be that Jehovah will look on the wrong done unto me, and that Jehovah will requite me good for [his] cursing of me this day.
Ps 3:2 : 2 Many there are that say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. {H5542}
Ps 22:8 : 8 Commit [thyself] unto Jehovah; Let him deliver him: Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Ps 42:4-11
8 verses
83%
4These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, How I went with the throng, and led them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday.
5Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And [why] art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him [For] the help of his countenance.
6O my God, my soul is cast down within me: Therefore do I remember thee from the land of the Jordan, And the Hermons, from the hill Mizar.
7Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8[ Yet] Jehovah will command his lovingkindness in the day-time; And in the night his song shall be with me, [Even] a prayer unto the God of my life.
9I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
10As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
11Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; For I shall yet praise him, [Who is] the help of my countenance, and my God.
Ps 42:1-2
2 verses
81%
1For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?
Job 3:24
79%
24For my sighing cometh before I eat, And my groanings are poured out like water.
Ps 69:3
78%
3I am weary with my crying; my throat is dried: Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Ps 22:1-2
2 verses
77%
1For the Chief Musician; set to Aijeleth hash-Shahar. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [Why art thou so] far from helping me, [and from] the words of my groaning?
2O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou answerest not; And in the night season, and am not silent.
Ps 102:9
77%
9For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping,
Ps 43:2
76%
2For thou art the God of my strength; Why hast thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Ps 77:2
76%
2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: My hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not; My soul refused to be comforted.
Job 16:20
75%
20My friends scoff at me: [But] mine eye poureth out tears unto God,
Ps 80:5
75%
5Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure.
Ps 39:12
75%
12Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, and give ear unto my cry; Hold not thy peace at my tears: For I am a stranger with thee, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.
Ps 13:1-2
2 verses
75%
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
Ps 143:3-4
2 verses
74%
3For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; He hath smitten my life down to the ground: He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.
4Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is desolate.
Ps 6:6-7
2 verses
74%
6I am weary with my groaning; Every night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
7Mine eye wasteth away because of grief; It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.
Ps 56:8
74%
8Thou numberest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle; Are they not in thy book?
Ps 119:82
74%
82Mine eyes fail for thy word, While I say, When wilt thou comfort me?
Ps 31:9-10
2 verses
73%
9Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress: Mine eye wasteth away with grief, [yea], my soul and my body.
10For my life is spent with sorrow, And my years with sighing: My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, And my bones are wasted away.
Lam 1:16
73%
16For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water; Because the comforter that should refresh my soul is far from me: My children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.
Lam 1:21-22
2 verses
73%
21They have heard that I sigh; there is none to comfort me; all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: Thou wilt bring the day that thou hast proclaimed, and they shall be like unto me.
22Let all their wickedness come before thee; And do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: For my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.
Ps 32:3-4
2 verses
73%
3When I kept silence, my bones wasted away Through my groaning all the day long.
4For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: My moisture was changed [as] with the drought of summer. {H5542}
Ps 88:1
73%
1A Song, a Psalm of the sons of Korah; for the Chief Musician; set to Mahalath Leannoth. Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. O Jehovah, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee.
Lam 3:11
73%
11He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate.
Ps 69:20
73%
20Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.
Lam 1:12-13
2 verses
72%
12Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is brought upon me, Wherewith Jehovah hath afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger.
13From on high hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: He hath made me desolate and faint all the day.
Ps 38:6
72%
6I am pained and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
Ps 102:4
72%
4My heart is smitten like grass, and withered; For I forget to eat my bread.
Ps 38:17
72%
17For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.
Job 16:16
72%
16My face is red with weeping, And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
Job 30:28
72%
28I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
Ps 38:9
72%
9Lord, all my desire is before thee; And my groaning is not hid from thee.
Ps 22:14-15
2 verses
72%
14I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Lam 3:49
72%
49Mine eye poureth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,
Ps 88:9
72%
9Mine eye wasteth away by reason of affliction: I have called daily upon thee, O Jehovah; I have spread forth my hands unto thee.