Psalm 51

¹Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love![#tn Or “according to.”]

Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts!

²Wash away my wrongdoing![#tn Heb “Thoroughly wash me from my wrongdoing.”]

Cleanse me of my sin!

³For I am aware of my rebellious acts;[#tn Heb “know.”]

I am forever conscious of my sin.

⁴Against you – you above all – I have sinned;[#tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”]

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So you are just when you confront me;

you are right when you condemn me.

⁵Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,

a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.

⁶Look, you desire integrity in the inner man;[#sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.; #tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.; #tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.]

you want me to possess wisdom.

⁷Sprinkle me with water and I will be pure;[#tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.; #tn Heb “cleanse me with hyssop.” “Hyssop” was a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33) used to apply water (or blood) in purification rites (see Exod 12:22; Lev 14:4-6, 49-52; Num 19:6-18. The psalmist uses the language and imagery of such rites to describe spiritual cleansing through forgiveness.; #tn After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.]

wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven![#tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.]

May the bones you crushed rejoice!

⁹Hide your face from my sins![#sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”]

Wipe away all my guilt!

¹⁰Create for me a pure heart, O God![#sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.]

Renew a resolute spirit within me!

¹¹Do not reject me![#tn Heb “do not cast me away from before you.”]

Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me!

¹²Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!

Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey!

¹³Then I will teach rebels your merciful ways,[#tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.; #tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).]

and sinners will turn to you.

¹⁴Rescue me from the guilt of murder, O God, the God who delivers me![#tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.]

Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance.

¹⁵O Lord, give me the words![#tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.]

Then my mouth will praise you.

¹⁶Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it;[#tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.; #tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)]

you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.

¹⁷The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit –[#tn Heb “a broken spirit.”]

O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.

¹⁸Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her![#tn Heb “do what is good for Zion in your favor.”]

Fortify the walls of Jerusalem!

¹⁹Then you will accept the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings;[#tn Or “desire, take delight in.”]

then bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.