Psalms 42:3 · Bible study
Psalms 42:3 Commentary: Tears as Food
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
The psalmist's tears replace food as enemies taunt 'Where is your God?' This study explores the raw pain of feeling abandoned and the struggle to hope.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The psalmist is so consumed by sorrow that tears replace his daily food, while enemies taunt him with the accusation that his God has abandoned him.
- Key words: 'tears,' 'meat/food,' 'day and night,' 'continually,' 'Where is your God?', the question is a taunt, not an inquiry.
- Main debate: Whether the psalmist is David in exile or a later Korahite singer; this does not affect the verse's meaning.
- Theological theme: The suffering of the righteous and the apparent absence of God; the struggle between despair and hope.
- Best use: For those in prolonged sorrow or facing public doubt about their faith; it validates raw emotion while pointing toward hope.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”
WEB World English Bible 2000
My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”
KJV King James Version 1769
My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
My tear hath been to me bread day and night, In their saying unto me all the day, `Where is thy God?'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
My tears have been my bread day and night, while they say unto me all the day, Where is thy God?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Sent forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Fueron mis lágrimas mi pan de día y de noche, mientras me dicen todos los días: ¿ Dónde está tu Dios?
Minhas lágrimas têm sido meu alimento dia e noite, porque o dia todo me dizem: Onde está o teu Deus?
Mon âme a soif de Dieu, du Dieu vivant:
Meine Tränen sind meine Speise Tag und Nacht, weil man täglich zu mir sagt: Wo ist nun dein Gott?
Mijn ziel dorst naar God, naar den levenden God; wanneer zal ik ingaan, en voor Gods aangezicht verschijnen?
Le mie lacrime son diventate il mio cibo giorno e notte, da che mi van dicendo del continuo: Dov’è il tuo Dio?
Pragnie dusza moja do Boga, do Boga żywego, mówiąc: Kiedyż przyjdę, a okażę się przed obliczem Bożem?
Пошли свет Твой и истину Твою; да ведут они меня и приведут на святую гору Твою и в обители Твои.
我 晝 夜 以眼淚 當 飲食；人不住地 對我 說：你的 神 在哪裡呢？
My tears have been my food day and night, while they keep saying to me, Where is your God?
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across the Reformed, Anglican, and Wesleyan traditions agree that this verse captures sorrow so deep it consumes appetite. Barnes notes that tears become 'meat', the word meat in the KJV meaning bread or food, and that this involuntary fasting is the basis for the concept of fasting as sorrow for sin. Matthew Henry sees it as 'holy love thirsting' for God when deprived of worship. The taunt 'Where is your God?' is the bitterest ingredient: Gill and Clarke point out that enemies interpret suffering as proof that the psalmist's God is powerless or indifferent. Calvin frames the entire psalm as a struggle against despair, with this verse showing the external pressure that fuels inner doubt. The Cambridge Bible calls it 'the bitterest ingredient in his cup of sorrow.' The consensus: this verse models raw honesty in lament while still reaching toward hope.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The psalmist is in deep grief, tears replace his food, enemies taunt him about God's absence, and the verse honestly captures the pain of feeling abandoned by God while still clinging to faith.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'tears have been my food' | All traditions see it as describing sorrow so deep that appetite is lost; tears replace bread as the staple of life. | Some read it literally (the psalmist literally cannot eat), others as hyperbolic poetic language for constant grief. |
| Identity of the enemies | The taunters are hostile outsiders who mock the psalmist's faith. | Calvin and Gill identify them as Philistines or pagan nations; others suggest they could be fellow Israelites who have turned against him. |
| Resolution of the psalm | The psalm ends with a reaffirmed hope in God, despite the pain. | Catholic and Protestant traditions both affirm the hope, but some emphasize the struggle (the psalm does not fully resolve until Psalm 43). |
Historical & Cultural Context
The psalm's superscription attributes it to the sons of Korah, a guild of temple singers, though Calvin argued strongly for Davidic authorship based on the personal tone and the reference to exile from the sanctuary. Either way, the historical setting is one of forced absence from public worship. The psalmist remembers leading processions to God's house (verse 4), but now he is distant, perhaps in the region of the Jordan and Hermon (verse 6). This physical separation compounds his spiritual anguish.
In the ancient Near East, a nation's god was thought to protect its people. When an individual suffered, enemies would point to that suffering as evidence that his God had abandoned him or was weak. The taunt 'Where is your God?' is not a request for information; it is a challenge to the psalmist's faith. Gill notes that pagan gods could be seen and pointed to, idols of gold and stone, but Israel's God was invisible. The question implies: 'If your God is real, why is He not helping you?'
The phrase 'day and night' signals relentless grief. Tears become bread, the staple of life. Matthew Henry observes that God sometimes teaches the worth of mercies by their absence. The psalmist's tears are both real and symbolic: they represent a spiritual famine as deep as any physical one.
Textual Notes
The consulted commentaries note no significant textual variants for this verse. The minor differences among translations (e.g., 'meat' in KJV vs 'food' in WEB, 'say' vs 'ask') reflect updates in English idiom rather than differences in the Hebrew text.
Reception History
Psalm 42:3 has been used in Christian worship as a cry of lament, especially during seasons of exile or suffering. The phrase 'Where is your God?' echoes in later psalms (79:10, 115:2) and in the taunts at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:43). Early and medieval commentators often read it as David's voice, making it a model for personal repentance and longing. In the Reformation, Luther and Calvin saw it as a battle against despair, a theme that has comforted believers feeling abandoned. The psalm is also part of the Korah collection, used in temple liturgy, reminding worshippers that even the official songs of Israel included raw honesty.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Tears as food: The psalmist's grief is so total that it replaces his basic need for nourishment. This is not exaggeration, it is the language of a person whose inner life has collapsed.
- The taunt that cuts deepest: Enemies ask, 'Where is your God?' The question strikes at the heart of faith. It says: your suffering means God is absent or indifferent.
- Looking toward hope: Though the verse ends on the taunt, the psalm does not. Verse 5 models the turn: 'Why are you in despair, my soul? Hope in God!' The pain is real, but hope is commanded and expected.
Five-point outline
- Honest sorrow: The psalmist does not hide his tears or pretend to be strong.
- The public dimension: Suffering is not private; others see and comment.
- Questioning God's presence: The taunt mirrors the psalmist's own inner doubt, 'Where are You?'
- Memory of better days: Verse 4 remembers worshipping with the crowd, which deepens the present ache.
- The resolve to hope: The refrain (verses 5, 11) insists on trusting God despite the evidence of circumstances.
Illustration hooks
- A Christian enduring a long illness is asked by a coworker, 'If your God is so good, why are you still sick?'
- A family grieving a sudden death hears from acquaintances, 'Where was your God when that happened?'
- A believer whose prayers for a prodigal child have gone unanswered for years feels the heavy silence as a daily taunt.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it okay to cry out to God and say, 'I feel abandoned'?
- How do I respond when people mock my faith because I'm suffering?
- Does this psalm promise that the pain will end, or just that I can endure it by hoping?
Leading a Discussion
This verse gives permission for honest lament. The psalmist does not edit his grief or pretend to be strong. Instead, he lets his tears speak, and lets the taunt hang in the air. In small groups, we often skip over the raw parts of Scripture. This verse invites us to sit with pain and ask honest questions.
Discussion questions
- What stands out to you in this verse? What feeling does it create?
- Why do you think the psalmist describes tears as his 'food'? What does that say about his state of mind?
- What makes the question 'Where is your God?' so painful? When have you heard or thought something similar?
- How does the rest of the psalm (especially verses 5 and 11) answer that question? Is the answer immediate or gradual?
- When have you felt that your tears were your only 'food', that grief or despair consumed everything else?
- How can we hold onto hope when we feel abandoned? What does 'hope in God' look like in practice?
- What can we learn from this psalm about how to support someone who is being taunted or mocked for their faith?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| II Samuel 16:12 | It may be that Yahweh will look on the wrong done to me, and that Yahweh will repay me good for the cursing of me today.” |
| Psalms 3:2 | Many there are who say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah. |
| Psalms 22:8 | “He trusts in Yahweh. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.” |
| Psalms 42:10 | As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?” |
| Psalms 79:10 | Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let it be known among the nations, before our eyes, that vengeance for your servants’ blood is being poured out. |
| Psalms 79:12 | Pay back to our neighbors seven times into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached you, Lord. |
| Psalms 80:5 | You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure. |
| Psalms 102:9 | For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears, |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke interprets the psalmist's tears as a replacement for food: longing for spiritual blessings became so intense that he forgot to eat. The deeper grief is not personal hardship but the dishonor done to God when enemies taunt, "Where is your God?"
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that "my tears have been my meat" originally meant the psalmist wept instead of eating, with sorrow destroying his appetite. This physical effect of grief became the basis for the practice of fasting. His enemies constantly taunt him with "Where is thy God?" implying God has utterly abandoned him.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin insists that David himself wrote this psalm, not the sons of Korah. He argues David was God’s chief prophet and composer; the Korahites were merely entrusted as keepers of the psalm, not its authors. Calvin also notes that David’s deepest sorrow in exile was being cut off from the sanctuary, not his personal suffering.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
My teares haue bin my meate day and night, while they dayly say vnto me, Where is thy God?
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill draws attention to the striking image of tears replacing food, as sorrow robs David of appetite and his tears mix with every meal. He further notes that David's enemies mock him by pointing to their visible idols while asking where David's invisible God is, implying that a real God would not let His servant suffer so.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the repeated taunt "Where is your God?" carries an implication of divine abandonment. The question is not a neutral inquiry but a charge that God has forsaken the sufferer, as seen in parallel passages where enemies mock the afflicted.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stress that the poet's comparison centers on the direction of longing: the stag looks down for water, while the soul looks up to the living God. They also note the poet deliberately avoids saying "see God's face," because the Torah teaches that no one can see God and live.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange insists that the verb for "panteth" describes not a quiet longing but an audible, agonized gasping caused by extreme thirst. He also notes that the word for "hart" must be understood as feminine ("hind"), since it images the soul, which in Hebrew is feminine.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry sees in David's longing the core of true religion: holy love for God as the supreme good, without which outward worship is empty. He observes that God often uses the loss of both public ordinances and inward comfort to sharpen our appetite, making us value His mercies more deeply.