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Psalm 51

David wrote this psalm for the music leader.

It was when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.

Please forgive me, Lord ^{[ a ]}

51 Please forgive me, God,
because of your faithful love.
Because you are so kind,
please clean away my sins.
² I have done bad things,
so wash me to make me clean again. ^{[ b ]}
³ I know that I have not obeyed you.
I cannot forget that I am guilty.
⁴ It is you that I have done bad things against,
only you! ^{[ c ]}
I have done things that are evil,
as you know.
And so you are fair when you speak against me.
You are right when you say that I am guilty.
⁵ Yes, even from the day I was born
I have done bad things.
I have always been guilty of sin.
⁶ But you want me to be completely good and honest.
You want to teach me to be wise
in the way that I live.
⁷ Splash water over me with a hyssop plant,
and I will be really clean. ^{[ d ]}
Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. ^{[ e ]}
⁸ Please forgive me so that I can be happy.
Then my whole body will feel well again.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins.
Clean away all the bad things that I have done. ^{[ f ]}
¹⁰ God, please make my heart new and clean.
And make my spirit strong and true,
deep inside me.
¹¹ Do not send me away from you.
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
¹² Give me joy again,
because you have made me safe.
Make me strong and ready to obey you.
¹³ Then I will teach your ways
to people who have turned against you.
Then sinners will turn back
and they will obey you.
¹⁴ God, I am guilty of murder.
Please forgive me!
You are the one who saves me.
When you rescue me,
I will sing aloud about your righteousness.
¹⁵ My Lord, help me to speak,
and then I will praise you.
¹⁶ I would be happy to offer sacrifices to you,
but that is not what you really want.
You do not want a burnt offering from me.
¹⁷ You want me to be humble and sorry.
That is the sacrifice that you want.
When people are humble
and they turn away from their sins,
you will not refuse them.

¹⁸ God, please be kind and help Zion.
Make the walls of Jerusalem strong again.
¹⁹ Then you will accept our proper sacrifices.
Our burnt offerings and sacrifices of whole animals
will make you happy.
Once again, people will offer bulls to you,
on your altar. ^{[ g ]}

Footnotes

51:1 David wrote this psalm after he had done something very bad. Then God's prophet Nathan came to David and he warned David. In the end, David was very sorry for the bad things that he had done. He asked God to forgive him. See 2 Samuel 11—12 .
51:2 David knows that sin makes him guilty in front of God. It is like he is dirty, so he wants God to wash away the bad things. Then he will be clean.
51:4 The most important thing is that David did not obey God's laws. He did do bad things that also hurt other people, like Uriah. But David realizes that, more than anything else, it is God that he has turned against.
51:7 See Exodus 12:22 ; Leviticus 14:4-6 , 49-52 ; Numbers 19:6-18 . Hyssop was a plant that the Israelites used to splash blood or water on things as a sign that God would make them pure.
51:7 Whiter than snow means ‘very pure and clean.’
51:9 Hide your face means ‘look away from me’.
51:19 When people were humble and they were sorry for their sins, then God would accept their sacrifices.

To the director: A song of David written when Nathan the prophet came to him after David’s sin with Bathsheba.

51 God, be merciful to me
because of your faithful love.
Because of your great compassion,
erase all the wrongs I have done.
² Scrub away my guilt.
Wash me clean from my sin.
³ I know I have done wrong.
I remember that sin all the time.
⁴ I did what you said is wrong.
You are the one I have sinned against.
I say this so that people will know
that I am wrong and you are right.
What you decided is fair.
⁵ I was born to do wrong,
a sinner before I left my mother’s womb.
⁶ You want me to be completely loyal,
so put true wisdom deep inside of me.
⁷ Remove my sin and make me pure. ^{[ a ]}
Wash me until I am whiter than snow!
⁸ Let me hear sounds of joy and happiness again.
Let the bones you crushed be happy again.
⁹ Don’t look at my sins.
Erase them all.
¹⁰ God, create a pure heart in me,
and make my spirit strong again.
¹¹ Don’t push me away
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Your help made me so happy.
Give me that joy again.
Make my spirit strong and ready to obey you.
¹³ I will teach the guilty how you want them to live,
and the sinners will come back to you.
¹⁴ God, spare me from the punishment of death. ^{[ b ]}
My God, you are the one who saves me!
Let me sing about all the good things you do for me!
¹⁵ My Lord, I will open my mouth and sing your praises!
¹⁶ You don’t really want sacrifices,
or I would give them to you.
¹⁷ The sacrifice that God wants is a humble spirit.
God, you will not turn away someone who comes with a humble heart and is willing to obey you. ^{[ c ]}

¹⁸ God, please be good to Zion.
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you can enjoy the kind of sacrifices you want. ^{[ d ]}
You will receive whole burnt offerings,
and people will again offer bulls on your altar.

Footnotes

Psalm 51:7 Remove … pure Literally, “Cleanse me with hyssop.” See “ hyssop ” in the Word List.
Psalm 51:14 spare … death Or “don’t consider me guilty of murder.”
Psalm 51:17 someone … obey you Literally, “a broken and crushed heart.”
Psalm 51:19 the kind … you want Or “the offering of righteousness.”

51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

⁴ Against 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.

⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

⁶ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

¹⁵ O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

¹⁸ Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

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Psalm 51

David wrote this psalm for the music leader.

It was when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.

Please forgive me, Lord ^{[ a ]}

Footnotes

To the director: A song of David written when Nathan the prophet came to him after David’s sin with Bathsheba.

Footnotes

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the music director. A Psalm of David, when ^{[ a ]} Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 51 ^{[ a ]}

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. ^{( A )}

Footnotes

Cross references

BibleStudyIt Psalm 51

Psalm 51's Chapter Tabs Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

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Your Private Notes

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Psalm 51

David wrote this psalm for the music leader.

It was when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.

Please forgive me, Lord [ a ]

Footnotes

To the director: A song of David written when Nathan the prophet came to him after David’s sin with Bathsheba.

Footnotes

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the music director. A Psalm of David, when [ a ] Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 51 [ a ]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. ( A )

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 51's Chapter Tabs
Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

Please forgive me, Lord ^{[ a ]}

For the music director. A Psalm of David, when ^{[ a ]} Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Psalm 51 ^{[ a ]}

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. ^{( A )}