en_tn/psa/042/001.md

General Information:

Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/writing-poetry and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism)

For the chief musician. A maschil of the sons of Korah

This is a superscription that tells about the psalm. Some scholars say that this is part of the scripture and some say that it is not. (See "What are Superscriptions in Psalms" in Introduction to Psalms.)

For the chief musician

"This is for the director of music to use in worship."

A maschil

This may refer to a style of music. See how you translated this in Psalms 32:1.

As the deer pants after streams of water, so I thirst for you, God

The author compares his desire for God to the desire of a thirsty deer for water.

pants

heavy breathing from an animal or person that is very tired or thirsty

I thirst for you, God

The author speaks of his strong desire for God as if it were a strong thirst for water. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)