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Psalm chapter 51

English Standard Version

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
New International Version

1For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 18May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
New American Standard Bible

1 Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness; According to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings. 2Wash me thoroughly from my guilt And cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my wrongdoings, And my sin is constantly before me. 4Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. 5Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in secret You will make wisdom known to me. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness, Let the bones You have broken rejoice. 9Hide Your face from my sins And wipe out all my guilty deeds. 10Create in me a clean heart, God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach wrongdoers Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. 14Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. 15Lord, open my lips, So that my mouth may declare Your praise. 16For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise. 18By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then bulls will be offered on Your altar.
Christian Standard Bible

1For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. 4Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.
5Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within. 7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.
13Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God— God of my salvation— and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering.
17The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God. 18In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
New Living Translation

1Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
7Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me — now let me rejoice. 9Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. 14Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. 15Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.
16You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. 17The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. 18Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit — with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
King James Version

1To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
New King James Version

1{To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.} Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. 14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 15O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. 18Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

What does Psalm chapter 51 mean?

Psalm 51 is a renowned expression of repentance. David, the greatest of Israel's kings, fell into serious sin and recognized his need to plead with God for forgiveness. This confession was inspired by David's sins of adultery, deception, and even murder in his relationship with Bathsheba.

David's reasons for repentance are explained in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12. From his roof, he noticed Bathsheba while she was bathing. David called her into the palace, and she became pregnant by him. At first, David brought her soldier husband, Uriah, back from war, hoping he would sleep with Bathsheba and cover up the illegitimate pregnancy. But Uriah was loyal to his fellow soldiers. He refused to take special privileges while his friends were at war. David even tried getting Uriah drunk, but that failed as well. Finally, David arranged for Uriah to be caught in the midst of a battle maneuver and killed. David then brought Bathsheba into the palace as a wife.

In response, God sent the prophet Nathan to challenge David. Nathan told a story about a rich man stealing a poor man's one and only lamb. Outraged, David said the rich man deserved to die. Nathan simply replied, "You are the man!" He then explained that as a result of this sin, David's family would forever be embroiled in war, conflict, scandal, and violence. The child conceived with Bathsheba would not survive. And David would be humiliated in the presence of the people. These predictions came true: the rest of David's life was spent in turbulence and family controversies. That even included a full-fledged rebellion led by his own son, Absalom.

In this Psalm, David confesses his sins to God, holding back nothing. David does not blame anyone for his errors and makes no attempt to excuse his actions. These words display absolute humility and anguish over sin. David appeals to God's mercy and love, knowing that he can be forgiven. At the same time, David makes no attempt to ask God to spare him from the earthly consequences of his sins. That judgment had already been given and was not going to be rescinded.

Among the Psalms, Psalm 51 is the best-known and most-cited expression of confession. This gives us a model for how to approach God when we've been convicted of sin. The right spirit is one of humility and repentance, without making excuses or blaming others. Even so, we can be confident that God will forgive those who sincerely seek that mercy (Hebrews 4:15–16).
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