Psalm 51
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.
3 For 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.
6 Behold, 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.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken (J)may rejoice.
9 Hide 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.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your (L)Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your (M)generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For (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.
18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then 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.
Footnotes
- Psalm 51:4 LXX, Tg., Vg. in Your words
Psalm 51
EasyEnglish Bible
David wrote this psalm for the music leader.
It was when the prophet Nathan came to him, after David had sex with Bathsheba.
Please forgive me, Lord[a]
51 Please forgive me, God,
because of your faithful love.
Because you are so kind,
please clean away my sins.
2 I have done bad things,
so wash me to make me clean again.[b]
3 I know that I have not obeyed you.
I cannot forget that I am guilty.
4 It is you that I have done bad things against,
only you![c]
I have done things that are evil,
as you know.
And so you are fair when you speak against me.
You are right when you say that I am guilty.
5 Yes, even from the day I was born
I have done bad things.
I have always been guilty of sin.
6 But you want me to be completely good and honest.
You want to teach me to be wise
in the way that I live.
7 Splash water over me with a hyssop plant,
and I will be really clean.[d]
Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.[e]
8 Please forgive me so that I can be happy.
Then my whole body will feel well again.
9 Hide your face from my sins.
Clean away all the bad things that I have done.[f]
10 God, please make my heart new and clean.
And make my spirit strong and true,
deep inside me.
11 Do not send me away from you.
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12 Give me joy again,
because you have made me safe.
Make me strong and ready to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways
to people who have turned against you.
Then sinners will turn back
and they will obey you.
14 God, I am guilty of murder.
Please forgive me!
You are the one who saves me.
When you rescue me,
I will sing aloud about your righteousness.
15 My Lord, help me to speak,
and then I will praise you.
16 I would be happy to offer sacrifices to you,
but that is not what you really want.
You do not want a burnt offering from me.
17 You want me to be humble and sorry.
That is the sacrifice that you want.
When people are humble
and they turn away from their sins,
you will not refuse them.
18 God, please be kind and help Zion.
Make the walls of Jerusalem strong again.
19 Then you will accept our proper sacrifices.
Our burnt offerings and sacrifices of whole animals
will make you happy.
Once again, people will offer bulls to you,
on your altar.[g]
Footnotes
- 51:1 David wrote this psalm after he had done something very bad. Then God's prophet Nathan came to David and he warned David. In the end, David was very sorry for the bad things that he had done. He asked God to forgive him. See 2 Samuel 11—12.
- 51:2 David knows that sin makes him guilty in front of God. It is like he is dirty, so he wants God to wash away the bad things. Then he will be clean.
- 51:4 The most important thing is that David did not obey God's laws. He did do bad things that also hurt other people, like Uriah. But David realizes that, more than anything else, it is God that he has turned against.
- 51:7 See Exodus 12:22; Leviticus 14:4-6,49-52; Numbers 19:6-18. Hyssop was a plant that the Israelites used to splash blood or water on things as a sign that God would make them pure.
- 51:7 Whiter than snow means ‘very pure and clean.’
- 51:9 Hide your face means ‘look away from me’.
- 51:19 When people were humble and they were sorry for their sins, then God would accept their sacrifices.
Psalm 51
King James Version
51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
Psalm 51
English Standard Version
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when (A)Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 (B)Have mercy on me,[a] O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your (C)abundant mercy
(D)blot out my transgressions.
2 (E)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and (F)cleanse me from my sin!
3 (G)For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 (H)Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil (I)in your sight,
(J)so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, (K)I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in (L)the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me (M)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
(N)wash me, and I shall be (O)whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
(P)let the bones (Q)that you have broken rejoice.
9 (R)Hide your face from my sins,
and (S)blot out all my iniquities.
10 (T)Create in me a (U)clean heart, O God,
and (V)renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 (W)Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not (X)your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will (Y)return to you.
14 Deliver me from (Z)bloodguiltiness, O God,
O (AA)God of my salvation,
and (AB)my tongue will sing aloud of your (AC)righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 (AD)For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are (AE)a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 (AF)Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
(AG)build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in (AH)right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and (AI)whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Footnotes
- Psalm 51:1 Or Be gracious to me
- Psalm 51:10 Or steadfast
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
