Psalm 51-53

New King James Version

A Prayer of Repentance

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David ^(A)when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
^(B)Blot out my transgressions.
²^(C)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

³For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
⁴^(D)Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil ^(E)in Your sight—
^(F)That You may be found just ^[a]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

⁵^(G)Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

⁷^(H)Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be ^(I)whiter than snow.
⁸Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken ^(J)may rejoice.
⁹Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰^(K)Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your ^(L)Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your ^(M)generous Spirit.
¹³Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

¹⁴Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
¹⁶For ^(N)You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
¹⁷^(O)The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹Then You shall be pleased with ^(P)the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A ^[b]Contemplation of David ^(Q)when Doeg the Edomite went and ^(R)told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?
The goodness of God endures continually.
²Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
³You love evil more than good,
Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah
⁴You love all devouring words,
You deceitful tongue.

⁵God shall likewise destroy you forever;
He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
⁶The righteous also shall see and fear,
And shall laugh at him, saying,
⁷“Here is the man who did not make God his strength,
But trusted in the abundance of his riches,
And strengthened himself in his ^[c]wickedness.”

⁸But I am ^(S)like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
⁹I will praise You forever,
Because You have done it;
And in the presence of Your saints
I will wait on Your name, for it ^[d]is good.

Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel^(T)

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A ^[e]Contemplation of David.

53 The ^(U)fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
^(V)There is none who does good.

²God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who ^(W)seek God.
³Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.

⁴Have the workers of iniquity ^(X)no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon God?
⁵^(Y)There they are in great fear
Where no fear was,
For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you;
You have put them to shame,
Because God has despised them.

⁶^(Z)Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God brings back ^[f]the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

Footnotes

Psalm 51:4 LXX, Tg., Vg. in Your words
Psalm 52:1 Heb. Maschil
Psalm 52:7 Lit. desire, in evil sense
Psalm 52:9 Or has a good reputation
Psalm 53:1 Heb. Maschil
Psalm 53:6 Or His captive people

Psalm 51-53

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.

Psalm 52^[c]

For the director of music. A maskil^[d] of David. When Doeg the Edomite^(AV) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

¹Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
    Why do you boast^(AW) all day long,^(AX)
    you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
²You who practice deceit,^(AY)
    your tongue plots destruction;^(AZ)
    it is like a sharpened razor.^(BA)
³You love evil^(BB) rather than good,
    falsehood^(BC) rather than speaking the truth.^[e]
⁴You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!^(BD)

⁵Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
    He will snatch you up and pluck^(BE) you from your tent;
    he will uproot^(BF) you from the land of the living.^(BG)
⁶The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh^(BH) at you, saying,
⁷“Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold^(BI)
but trusted in his great wealth^(BJ)
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

⁸But I am like an olive tree^(BK)
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust^(BL) in God’s unfailing love
    for ever and ever.
⁹For what you have done I will always praise you^(BM)
    in the presence of your faithful people.^(BN)
And I will hope in your name,^(BO)
    for your name is good.^(BP)

Psalm 53^[f]^(BQ)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[g] A maskil^[h] of David.

¹The fool^(BR) says in his heart,
“There is no God.”^(BS)
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.

²God looks down from heaven^(BT)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,^(BU)
    any who seek God.^(BV)
³Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
    there is no one who does good,
    not even one.^(BW)

⁴Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;
    they never call on God.
⁵But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    where there was nothing to dread.^(BX)
God scattered the bones^(BY) of those who attacked you;^(BZ)
    you put them to shame,^(CA) for God despised them.^(CB)

⁶Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes

Psalm 51:1 In Hebrew texts 51:1-19 is numbered 51:3-21.
Psalm 51:17 Or The sacrifices of God are
Psalm 52:1 In Hebrew texts 52:1-9 is numbered 52:3-11.
Psalm 52:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 52:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 5.
Psalm 53:1 In Hebrew texts 53:1-6 is numbered 53:2-7.
Psalm 53:1 Title: Probably a musical term
Psalm 53:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term

New King James Version (NKJV)

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 51-53

New King James Version

A Prayer of Repentance

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David ^(A)when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A ^[b]Contemplation of David ^(Q)when Doeg the Edomite went and ^(R)told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel^(T)

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A ^[e]Contemplation of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 51-53

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)

Psalm 52^[c]

For the director of music. A maskil^[d] of David. When Doeg the Edomite^(AV) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

Psalm 53^[f]^(BQ)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[g] A maskil^[h] of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 51-53 New King James Version

A Prayer of Repentance

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David (A)when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A [b]Contemplation of David (Q)when Doeg the Edomite went and (R)told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel(T)

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A [e]Contemplation of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 51-53 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)

Psalm 52[c]

For the director of music. A maskil[d] of David. When Doeg the Edomite(AV) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

Psalm 53[f](BQ)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.[g] A maskil[h] of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 51-53

New King James Version

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David ^(A)when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

To the Chief Musician. A ^[b]Contemplation of David ^(Q)when Doeg the Edomite went and ^(R)told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel^(T)

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A ^[e]Contemplation of David.

Psalm 51-53

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)

Psalm 52^[c]

For the director of music. A maskil^[d] of David. When Doeg the Edomite^(AV) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

Psalm 53^[f]^(BQ)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[g] A maskil^[h] of David.