Psalm 42 3

Psalm 42:3 kjv

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

Psalm 42:3 nkjv

My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, "Where is your God?"

Psalm 42:3 niv

My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

Psalm 42:3 esv

My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?"

Psalm 42:3 nlt

Day and night I have only tears for food,
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
"Where is this God of yours?"

Psalm 42 verses

Psalm 42 3 Meaning

Psalm 42:3 describes a state of intense, continuous sorrow and suffering where the psalmist's overwhelming grief consumes him, likening his tears to his sustenance. This profound internal distress is profoundly deepened by the constant, relentless mockery of others who challenge his faith by questioning the very presence or power of his God. It reflects a severe combination of emotional pain, potential physical debilitation due to extreme sadness, and deep spiritual anguish caused by the apparent absence of God and the derision of his belief.

Psalm 42 3 Context

Psalm 42 is the opening of Book Two of the Psalter, often read with Psalm 43 as a single unit due to shared themes and the repeated refrain (Ps 42:5, 11; Ps 43:5). It is a lament from the Sons of Korah, Levites traditionally associated with temple worship and music. The psalmist expresses an overwhelming spiritual thirst for God's presence, vividly portrayed by the deer panting for water (Ps 42:1-2). This intense longing is set against a backdrop of deep distress, possibly from exile or separation from the temple in Jerusalem (Ps 42:4, 6), a place where he once experienced joyful worship. His current suffering (Ps 42:3) is not merely personal grief but compounded by this alienation from communal worship and, critically, by the relentless mocking from his adversaries. He wrestles with profound internal despair, questioning his own soul's dejection ("Why are you cast down, O my soul?") even as he resolves to hope in God. Thus, verse 3 is the culmination of personal pain, spiritual longing, and external pressure, revealing a crisis of faith intensified by hostile theological challenges.

Psalm 42 3 Word analysis

• My tears: The Hebrew word is `dim'ah` (דִּמְעָה), meaning 'tear' or 'weeping'. It signifies profound grief, anguish, or lamentation that moves one to weep uncontrollably. It indicates a state of overwhelming sorrow that is expressed physically and is so dominant that it becomes part of the psalmist's very being.
• have been my food: In Hebrew, `hayetha li lechem` (הָיְתָה לִּי לֶחֶם). `Lechem` (לֶחֶם) literally means 'bread' and generically refers to 'food' or 'sustenance'. This is a powerful and vivid metaphor. Instead of literal bread, the psalmist consumes tears. It denotes a state of extreme, consuming sorrow where normal physical sustenance is either absent, undesired, or supplanted by constant weeping. It implies profound emotional and possibly physical depletion, as if grief is the only thing he takes in, providing a grim sustenance.
• day and night: The Hebrew `yomam va'laylah` (יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה) indicates an unceasing, continuous nature. This temporal phrase emphasizes the relentless, unyielding quality of his suffering and weeping, suggesting no respite, rest, or break from his affliction. It paints a picture of torment that consumes his entire existence without pause.
• while people say to me: The Hebrew phrase `be'omram elay` (בְּאָמְרָם אֵלַי) means "in their saying to me" or "as they say to me." `Anashim` (אֲנָשִׂים), here translated as "people," indicates human beings generally or specific adversaries. This identifies external tormentors who verbally abuse and challenge the psalmist. The grammatical structure emphasizes the continuous action of their speaking, paralleling the continuous tears.
• all day long: The Hebrew `kol ha'yom` (כָּל־הַיּוֹם) means "the whole day" or "every day." This phrase reinforces the 'day and night' aspect regarding his tears, indicating that the taunting is as continuous and persistent as his grief. There is no escape from their cutting remarks, which compound his inner agony.
• 'Where is your God?': The Hebrew `Ayye eloheykha?` (אַיֵּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ) is a direct, rhetorical, and deeply polemical question.
  • "Where is": `Ayye` implies absence, non-existence, or indifference. It challenges God's physical location, intervention, or very presence in the psalmist's life or the world. It questions His power and attentiveness.
  • "your God": `Eloheykha` (אֱלֹהֶיךָ) uses the personal possessive suffix 'your'. This emphasizes a direct mockery of the psalmist's specific, personal reliance and covenant relationship with YHWH, in stark contrast to pagan notions of limited or absent deities. It is the most stinging part of the taunt, a direct assault on the foundation of the psalmist's faith and his unique relationship with the living God, implying He is either absent, impotent, or unconcerned.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "My tears have been my food day and night": This highly metaphorical and hyperbolic expression vividly conveys utter physical and emotional desolation. The psalmist is not merely crying, but so overwhelmed by grief that his tears have become his sole 'sustenance,' replacing normal food. This signifies that his existence is entirely defined and consumed by unending sorrow, pointing to a profound, constant, and soul-drenching affliction.
• "while people say to me all day long": This clause emphasizes the external source of affliction running concurrently with internal suffering. The taunting is relentless, a continuous auditory assault that offers no reprieve. The presence of 'people' indicates that his suffering is not solitary but mocked by observers, escalating his pain from personal anguish to a public test of faith, further highlighting the constancy of his suffering.
• "'Where is your God?'": This core rhetorical question is not merely skeptical; it's deeply challenging and mocking. It assaults the psalmist at his most vulnerable point – his trust in God. It implies God's non-existence, abandonment, or inability to act, placing a tremendous burden on the psalmist's faith, especially when God's presence or intervention is not visibly apparent. This question transforms his suffering into a theological battle, questioning the very validity of his belief system in the face of perceived divine silence.

Psalm 42 3 Bonus section

• Polemical Context: The question "Where is your God?" carries significant polemical weight, particularly against the backdrop of ancient Near Eastern polytheistic religions. Pagan deities were often seen as localized or needing to be appeased with specific rituals for a visible display of power. When a worshipper of YHWH suffered or felt distant from God, this question served as a direct challenge, suggesting that the God of Israel was either absent, impotent, or fictitious, much like the ineffective idols. It forced the believer to grapple with the distinct nature of the one, true, sovereign God whose presence isn't always visibly manifest.
• Theology of the Hidden God (Deus Absconditus): This verse touches upon a profound theological tension where God's presence or intervention is not outwardly visible or immediately felt. Such an experience can lead to internal questioning and provides ammunition for external skeptics. Yet, paradoxically, it is often in these moments of perceived divine 'hiddenness' that faith is most profoundly refined, pushing the believer to trust in God's character and promises rather than circumstantial evidence. Isaiah 45:15 directly alludes to this idea, stating, "Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior."
• Intertwined Suffering: The psalmist's tears as 'food' emphasize an all-encompassing sorrow that pervades his very sustenance. This shows how deep spiritual distress, intensified by external taunting, can manifest in extreme physical symptoms and profoundly impact one's basic needs and daily existence. The mind and body are intricately linked in the experience of suffering.

Psalm 42 3 Commentary

Psalm 42:3 lays bare the raw, pervasive anguish of a soul immersed in relentless suffering, amplified by external mockery. The striking metaphor of tears as 'food' powerfully communicates a complete absorption in grief, where sorrow becomes the very essence of existence, replacing nourishment and denying rest. This imagery conveys a sense of utter physical and emotional exhaustion. The internal desolation is mercilessly aggravated by the unceasing taunts of adversaries who relentlessly challenge the psalmist's foundational faith by demanding, "Where is your God?" This question, far from being a simple query, is a deeply polemical and cynical attack on the God of Israel and on the psalmist's personal relationship with Him. In a context where the psalmist deeply yearns for God's manifest presence in the temple (Ps 42:1-2, 4), this external scoffing serves to heighten the profound theological struggle of a believer facing what feels like divine hiddenness and abandonment, pressing the paradox of a suffering believer and an unseen yet sovereign God. The verse poignantly captures the universal struggle of maintaining faith and hope amidst both profound personal distress and cynical public doubt.