Psalms 51:2-12

2 ¹Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And ²cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I ³know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.

4 ⁴Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is ⁵evil in Your sight, So that ⁶You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was ⁷brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire ⁸truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will ⁹make me know wisdom.

7 Purify me ¹⁰with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be ¹¹whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear ¹²joy and gladness, Let the ¹³bones which You have broken rejoice.

9 ¹⁴Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.

10 ¹⁵Create in me a ¹⁶clean heart, O God, And renew a ¹⁷steadfast spirit within me.

11 ¹⁸Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your ¹⁹Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the ²⁰joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a ²¹willing spirit.

Psalms 51:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. The occasion of this psalm was the sin of David with Bathsheba, signified by "going in to her"; an euphemism for "lying with her"; which sin was a very aggravated one, she being another man's wife, and the wife of a servant and soldier of his, who was at the same time exposing his life for his king and country's good; and David besides had many wives, and was also king of Israel, and should have set a better example to his subjects; and it was followed with other sins, as the murder of Uriah, and the death of several others; with scandal to religion, and with security and impenitence in him for a long time, until Nathan the prophet was sent to him of God, to awaken him to a sense of his sin; which he immediately acknowledged, and showed true repentance for it: upon which, either while Nathan was present, or after he was gone, he penned this psalm; that it might remain on record, as a testification of his repentance, and for the instruction of such as should fall into sin, how to behave, where to apply, and for their comfort. The history of all this may be seen in the eleventh and twelfth chapters of the second book of Samuel.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 51:7; Isaiah 1:16; Isaiah 4:4; Jeremiah 4:14; Acts 22:16; Revelation 1:5
• 2. Jeremiah 33:8; Ezekiel 36:33; Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:7, 9
• 3. Isaiah 59:12
• 4. Genesis 20:6; Genesis 39:9; 2 Samuel 12:13; Psalms 41:4
• 5. Luke 15:21
• 6. Romans 3:4
• 7. Job 14:4; Job 15:14; Psalms 58:3; Ephesians 2:3
• 8. Job 38:36; Psalms 15:2
• 9. Proverbs 2:6; Ecclesiastes 2:26; James 1:5
• 10. Exodus 12:22; Leviticus 14:4; Numbers 19:18; Hebrews 9:19
• 11. Isaiah 1:18
• 12. Isaiah 35:10; Joel 1:16
• 13. Psalms 35:10
• 14. Jeremiah 16:17
• 15. Ezekiel 18:31; Ephesians 2:10
• 16. Psalms 24:4; Matthew 5:8; Acts 15:9
• 17. Psalms 78:37
• 18. 2 Kings 13:23; 2 Kings 24:20; Jeremiah 7:15
• 19. Isaiah 63:10, 11
• 20. Psalms 13:5
• 21. Psalms 110:3

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "I myself know"
• [b]. Or "may be in the right"
• [c]. Many mss read "in Your words"
• [d]. Lit "pure"
• [e]. Or "inward parts"
• [f]. Or "May You purify...that I may be clean"
• [g]. Or "May You wash"
• [h]. Or "May You make"
• [i]. Lit "for"
• [j]. Or "an upright"