Psalm 51-52

New Living Translation

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
    blot out the stain of my sins.
² Wash me clean from my guilt.
    Purify me from my sin.
³ For I recognize my rebellion;
    it haunts me day and night.
⁴ Against 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.^[a]
5 For I was born a sinner—
    yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
⁶ But you desire honesty from the womb,^[b]
    teaching me wisdom even there.

⁷ Purify me from my sins,^[c] and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice.
⁹ Don’t keep looking at my sins.
    Remove the stain of my guilt.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God.
    Renew a loyal spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Holy Spirit^[d] from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you.
¹³ Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
    and they will return to you.
¹⁴ Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
    then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
¹⁵ Unseal my lips, O Lord,
    that my mouth may praise you.

¹⁶ You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
¹⁸ Look with favor on Zion and help her;
    rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then 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.

¹ Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior?
    Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever?
² All day long you plot destruction.
    Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor;
    you’re an expert at telling lies.
³ You love evil more than good
    and lies more than truth. Interlude

⁴ You love to destroy others with your words,
    you liar!
⁵ But God will strike you down once and for all.
    He will pull you from your home
    and uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude

⁶ The righteous will see it and be amazed.
    They will laugh and say,
⁷ “Look what happens to mighty warriors
    who do not trust in God.
They trust their wealth instead
    and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

⁸ But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.
    I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.
⁹ I will praise you forever, O God,
    for what you have done.
I will trust in your good name
    in the presence of your faithful people.