Psalm 51

New International Version

Psalm 51^[a]

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

¹Have mercy^(B) on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;^(C)
according to your great compassion^(D)
    blot out^(E) my transgressions.^(F)
²Wash away^(G) all my iniquity
    and cleanse^(H) me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.^(I)
⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned^(J)
    and done what is evil in your sight;^(K)
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.^(L)
⁵Surely I was sinful^(M) at birth,^(N)
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom^(O) in that secret place.^(P)

⁷Cleanse^(Q) me with hyssop,^(R) and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.^(S)
⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;^(T)
    let the bones^(U) you have crushed rejoice.
⁹Hide your face from my sins^(V)
    and blot out^(W) all my iniquity.

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart,^(X) O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.^(Y)
¹¹Do not cast me^(Z) from your presence^(AA)
    or take your Holy Spirit^(AB) from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation^(AC)
    and grant me a willing spirit,^(AD) to sustain me.^(AE)

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,^(AF)
    so that sinners^(AG) will turn back to you.^(AH)
¹⁴Deliver me^(AI) from the guilt of bloodshed,^(AJ) O God,
    you who are God my Savior,^(AK)
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.^(AL)
¹⁵Open my lips, Lord,^(AM)
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice,^(AN) or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷My sacrifice,^(AO) O God, is^[b] a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart^(AP)
    you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸May it please you to prosper Zion,^(AQ)
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.^(AR)
¹⁹Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,^(AS)
    in burnt offerings^(AT) offered whole;
    then bulls^(AU) will be offered on your altar.

Footnotes

Psalm 51:1 In Hebrew texts 51:1-19 is numbered 51:3-21.
Psalm 51:17 Or The sacrifices of God are

Deuteronomy 28:58-29:1

New International Version

⁵⁸If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law,^(A) which are written in this book, and do not revere^(B) this glorious and awesome name^(C)—the Lord your God— ⁵⁹the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. ⁶⁰He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt^(D) that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law,^(E) until you are destroyed.^(F) ⁶²You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky^(G) will be left but few^(H) in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. ⁶³Just as it pleased^(I) the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please^(J) him to ruin and destroy you.^(K) You will be uprooted^(L) from the land you are entering to possess.

⁶⁴Then the Lord will scatter^(M) you among all nations,^(N) from one end of the earth to the other.^(O) There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.^(P) ⁶⁵Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place^(Q) for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes^(R) weary with longing, and a despairing heart.^(S) ⁶⁶You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. ⁶⁷In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.^(T) ⁶⁸The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again.^(U) There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

Renewal of the Covenant

29 ^[a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab,^(V) in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.^(W)

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 29:1 In Hebrew texts 29:1 is numbered 28:69, and 29:2-29 is numbered 29:1-28.

Acts 7:17-29

New International Version

¹⁷“As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.^(A) ¹⁸Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’^[a]^(B) ¹⁹He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.^(C)

²⁰“At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.^[b] For three months he was cared for by his family.^(D) ²¹When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.^(E) ²²Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians^(F) and was powerful in speech and action.

²³“When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. ²⁴He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. ²⁵Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. ²⁶The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

²⁷“But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?^(G) ²⁸Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’^[c] ²⁹When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.^(H)

Read full chapter