Psalm 51-53

Common English Bible

Psalm 51

For the music leader. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him just after he had been with Bathsheba.

51 Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
    Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
²Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
    purify me from my sin!
³Because I know my wrongdoings,
    my sin is always right in front of me.
⁴I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
    I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
    completely correct when you issue your judgment.
⁵Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
    from the moment my mother conceived me.
⁶And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
    you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.^[a]

⁷Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
    wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸Let me hear joy and celebration again;
    let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
⁹Hide your face from my sins;
    wipe away all my guilty deeds!
¹⁰Create a clean heart for me, God;
    put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
¹¹Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
    please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
¹²Return the joy of your salvation to me
    and sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
    and sinners will come back to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
    so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
¹⁶You don’t want sacrifices.
    If I gave an entirely burned offering,
    you wouldn’t be pleased.
¹⁷A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God.^[b]
    You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.
¹⁸Do good things for Zion by your favor.
    Rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
¹⁹Then you will again want sacrifices of righteousness—
    entirely burned offerings and complete offerings.
        Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

Psalm 52

For the music leader. A maskil^[c] of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has gone to Ahimelech’s house.”

52 Hey, powerful person!
    Why do you brag about evil?
    God’s faithful love lasts all day long.
²Your tongue devises destruction:
    it’s like a sharpened razor, causing deception.
³You love evil more than good;
    you love lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
⁴You love all destructive words;
    you love the deceiving tongue.

⁵But God will take you down permanently;
    he will snatch you up,
    tear you out of your tent,
    and uproot you from the land of the living! Selah
⁶The righteous will see and be in awe;
    they will laugh at those people:
⁷“Look at them! They didn’t make God their refuge.
    Instead, they trusted in their own great wealth.
        They sought refuge in it—to their own destruction!”

⁸But I am like a green olive tree in God’s house;
    I trust in God’s faithful love forever and always.
⁹I will give thanks to you, God, forever,
    because you have acted.
In the presence of your faithful people,
    I will hope in your name because it’s so good.

Psalm 53

For the music leader, according to the mahalath. A maskil^[d] of David.

53 Fools say in their hearts, There’s no God.
They are corrupt and do horrible deeds;
not one of them does anything good.

²God looks down from heaven on humans
    to see if anyone is wise,
    to see if anyone seeks God.
³But all have turned away.
    Everyone is corrupt.
    No one does good—
    not even one person!

⁴Are they dumb—these evildoers—
devouring my people like they are eating bread
but never calling on God?

⁵There, where there was nothing to fear,
    they will be in utter panic
    because God will scatter the bones
        of those who attacked you.
You will put them to shame
    because God has rejected them.

⁶Let Israel’s salvation come out of Zion!
    When God changes
    his people’s circumstances for the better,
        Jacob will rejoice;
        Israel will celebrate!