Psalms 51:1-3

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

1 ^[a]Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Psalms 51:1-3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 51:1-3 In-Context

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against 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.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Cross References

• 1. S 2 Samuel 24:14; S Psalms 9:13
• 2. S Psalms 25:7; S Psalms 119:88
• 3. S Nehemiah 9:27; Psalms 86:15; Isaiah 63:7
• 4. S 2 Samuel 12:13; S 2 Chronicles 6:21; S Nehemiah 4:5; Acts 3:19
• 5. S Psalms 39:8; Isaiah 43:25; Colossians 2:14
• 6. S Ruth 3:3; Jeremiah 2:22; Jeremiah 13:27; Acts 22:16; 1 John 1:9
• 7. Proverbs 20:30; Isaiah 4:4; Ezekiel 36:25; Zechariah 13:1; Matthew 23:25-26; Hebrews 9:14
• 8. Isaiah 59:12

Footnotes

• [a]. In Hebrew texts 51:1-19 is numbered 51:3-21.