⁵ I have sinned and done wrong
    since the day I was born.
⁶ But you want complete honesty,
    so teach me true wisdom.
⁷ Wash me with hyssop^[a]
until I am clean
    and whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me be happy and joyful!
You crushed my bones,
    now let them celebrate.
⁹ Turn your eyes from my sin
    and cover my guilt.
¹⁰ Create pure thoughts in me
    and make me faithful again.
¹¹ Don't chase me away from you
or take your Holy Spirit
    away from me.

¹² Make me as happy as you did
when you saved me;
    make me want to obey!
¹³ I will teach sinners your Law,
    and they will return to you.
¹⁴ Keep me from any deadly sin.
    Only you can save me!
Then I will shout and sing
    about your power to save.

¹⁵ Help me to speak,
    and I will praise you, Lord.
¹⁶ Offerings and sacrifices
    are not what you want.
¹⁷ The way to please you
is to be truly sorry
    deep in our hearts.
This is the kind of sacrifice
    you won't refuse.

¹⁸ Please be willing, Lord,
to help the city of Zion
    and to rebuild its walls.
¹⁹ Then you will be pleased
    with the proper sacrifices,
and we will offer bulls
    on your altar once again.

³ You notice everything I do
    and everywhere I go.
⁴ Before I even speak a word,
    you know what I will say,
⁵ and with your powerful arm
you protect me
    from every side.
⁶ I can't understand all of this!
Such wonderful knowledge
    is far above me.

⁷ Where could I go to escape
from your Spirit
    or from your sight?
⁸ If I were to climb up
to the highest heavens,
    you would be there.
If I were to dig down
to the world of the dead
    you would also be there.

⁹ Suppose I had wings
like the dawning day
    and flew across the ocean.
¹⁰ Even then your powerful arm
    would guide and protect me.
¹¹ Or suppose I said, “I'll hide
in the dark until night comes
    to cover me over.”
¹² But you see in the dark
because daylight and dark
    are all the same to you.

¹³ You are the one
who put me together
    inside my mother's body,
¹⁴ and I praise you because of
the wonderful way
    you created me.
Everything you do is marvelous!
    Of this I have no doubt.

¹⁵ Nothing about me
    is hidden from you!
I was secretly woven together
    out of human sight,
¹⁶ but with your own eyes you saw
    my body being formed.
Even before I was born,
you had written in your book
    everything about me.

^17 (A) Your thoughts are far beyond
    my understanding,
much more than I
    could ever imagine.
¹⁸ I try to count your thoughts,
but they outnumber the grains
    of sand on the beach.
And when I awake,
    I will find you nearby.

¹⁹ How I wish that you would kill
all cruel and heartless people
    and protect me from them!
²⁰ They are always rebelling
    and speaking evil of you.^[a]
21 You know I hate anyone
who hates you, Lord,
    and refuses to obey.
²² They are my enemies too,
    and I truly hate them.

²³ Look deep into my heart, God,
and find out everything
    I am thinking.
²⁴ Don't let me follow evil ways,
but lead me in the way
    that time has proven true.