Psalm 51:1-17

Common English Bible

Psalm 51

For the music leader. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him just after he had been with Bathsheba.

51 Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
    Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
²Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
    purify me from my sin!
³Because I know my wrongdoings,
    my sin is always right in front of me.
⁴I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
    I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
    completely correct when you issue your judgment.
⁵Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
    from the moment my mother conceived me.
⁶And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
    you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.^[a]

⁷Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
    wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸Let me hear joy and celebration again;
    let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
⁹Hide your face from my sins;
    wipe away all my guilty deeds!
¹⁰Create a clean heart for me, God;
    put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
¹¹Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
    please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
¹²Return the joy of your salvation to me
    and sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
    and sinners will come back to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
    so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
¹⁶You don’t want sacrifices.
    If I gave an entirely burned offering,
    you wouldn’t be pleased.
¹⁷A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God.^[b]
    You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.