God & Savior

Psalm 42:11

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11
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Study notes

The psalmist asks why his soul is downcast and tells himself to hope in God, whom he will yet praise.

Explanation

This verse is a refrain (also 42:5 and 43:5). The psalmist speaks to his own soul. He does not pretend he is not troubled, but he tells himself to hope in God, confident that praise will come again.

Original language
  • תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י׀ (tish.To.cha.Chi): to bow
    Hebrew · Verb, hithpael, imperfect, 2nd person, feminine, singular · Strong's H7817 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Are you bowed down, downcast.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 42:11, word 2

  • נַפְשִׁי֮ (naf.Shi): soul
    Hebrew · Noun, feminine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · Strong's H5315G · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Soul.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 42:11, word 3

  • הוֹחִ֣ילִי (ho.Chi.li): hope
    Hebrew · Verb, hiphil, imperative, 2nd person, feminine, singular · Strong's H3176H · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Wait, hope.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 42:11, word 7

  • אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ ('o.De.nu): to give thanks
    Hebrew · Verb, hiphil, imperfect, 1st person, common, singular + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H3034 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    I will give thanks or praise.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 42:11, word 11

Cross-references
Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

מַה־תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י׀ נַפְשִׁי֮ וּֽמַה־תֶּהֱמִ֪י עָ֫לָ֥י הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵֽ֭אלֹהִים כִּי־ע֣וֹד אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ יְשׁוּעֹ֥ת פָּ֝נַ֗י וֵֽאלֹהָֽי׃

  1. מַה־mah-“why?”
    Pronoun, interrogative · from מָה · “what?” · Strong's H4100
  2. תִּשְׁתּ֬וֹחֲחִ֨י׀tish.To.cha.Chi“are you bowed down”
    Verb, hithpael, imperfect, 2nd person, feminine, singular · from שָׁחַח · “to bow” · Strong's H7817
  3. נַפְשִׁי֮naf.Shi“O soul my”
    Noun, feminine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from נֶ֫פֶשׁ · “soul” · Strong's H5315G
  4. וּֽמַה־u.mah-“and why?”
    Conjunction + Pronoun, interrogative · from מָה · “what?” · Strong's H4100
  5. תֶּהֱמִ֪יte.he.Mi“are you in turmoil”
    Verb, qal, imperfect, 2nd person, feminine, singular · from הָמָה · “to roar” · Strong's H1993
  6. עָ֫לָ֥י'a.Lai“on me”
    Preposition + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from עַל · “upon” · Strong's H5921A
  7. הוֹחִ֣ילִיho.Chi.li“wait”
    Verb, hiphil, imperative, 2nd person, feminine, singular · from יָחַל · “hope” · Strong's H3176H
  8. לֵֽ֭אלֹהִיםLe.lo.him“for God”
    Preposition + Noun, masculine, plural, absolute · from אֱלֹהִים · “God” · Strong's H0430G
  9. כִּי־ki-“for”
    Particle · from כִּי · “for” · Strong's H3588A
  10. ע֣וֹדod“again”
    Adjective, cardinal number, masculine, singular, absolute · from עוֹד · “still” · Strong's H5750
  11. אוֹדֶ֑נּוּ'o.De.nu“I will give thanks to him”
    Verb, hiphil, imperfect, 1st person, common, singular + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from יָדָה · “to give thanks” · Strong's H3034
  12. יְשׁוּעֹ֥תye.shu.'Ot“[the] salvation<s> of”
    Noun, feminine, plural, construct · from יְשׁוּעָה · “salvation” · Strong's H3444
  13. פָּ֝נַ֗יpa.Nai“face my”
    Noun, masculine, plural, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from פָּנֶה · “PERSON” · Strong's H6440L
  14. וֵֽאלֹהָֽי׃Ve.lo.Hai“and God my”
    Conjunction + Noun, masculine, plural, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 1st person, both genders, singular · from אֱלֹהִים · “God” · Strong's H0430G
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)

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