Psalm 51
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 51
Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon
To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy,
blot out my transgressions.(A)
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.(B)
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.(C)
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.(D)
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.(E)
6 You desire truth in the inward being;[a]
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.(F)
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.(G)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.(H)
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.(I)
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.(J)
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.(K)
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.(L)
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.(M)
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.(N)
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.(O)
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.(P)
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God[d] is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.(Q)
Psalm 51
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 51
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.(B)
2 Completely wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.(C)
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.(D)
4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.(E)
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.(F)
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.(G)
6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,
and you teach me wisdom deep within.(H)
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(I)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.(J)
9 Turn your face away[a] from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.(K)
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast[b] spirit within me.(L)
11 Do not banish me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.(M)
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.(N)
13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways,
and sinners will return to you.(O)
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God(P)—
God of my salvation—
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.(Q)
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.(R)
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
you are not pleased with a burnt offering.(S)
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is[c] a broken spirit.
You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.(T)
2 Samuel 11:1-12:25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba
11 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.(A)
2 It happened, late one afternoon when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.(B) 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”(C) 4 So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.(D) 5 The woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”(E)
6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.(F) 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths,[a] and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.”(G) 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day,[b] 13 David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk, and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.(H)
David Has Uriah Killed
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.(I) 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”(J) 16 As Joab kept watch over the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant warriors. 17 The men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well.(K) 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting, 19 and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the news about the fighting, 20 if the king’s anger rises and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal?[c] Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead, too.’ ”(L)
22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another; press your attack on the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him.(M) 27 When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.
Nathan Condemns David
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,(N) 12 1
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul;(R) 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your bosom and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah, and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.(S) 10 Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.(T) 11 Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.(U) 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and in broad daylight.”(V) 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die.(W) 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,[d] the child born to you shall die.”(X) 15 Then Nathan went to his house.
Bathsheba’s Child Dies
The Lord struck the child whom Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill.(Y) 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.(Z) 17 The elders of his house stood beside him urging him to rise from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he perceived that the child was dead, and David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”
20 Then David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the Lord and worshiped; he then went to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.(AA) 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but when the child died, you rose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’(AB) 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”(AC)
Solomon Is Born
24 Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba and went to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The Lord loved him(AD) 25 and sent a message by the prophet Nathan, so he named him Jedidiah[e] because of the Lord.
2 Samuel 11:1-12:25
Christian Standard Bible
David’s Adultery with Bathsheba
11 In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.(A)
2 One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. 3 So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba,(B) daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah(C) the Hethite?” [a]
4 David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness.(D) Afterward, she returned home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to inform David, “I am pregnant.”
6 David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hethite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.
10 When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers[b] are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!” (E)
12 “Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
Uriah’s Death Arranged
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote:
Put Uriah(F) at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies.
16 When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were. 17 Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David’s soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hethite also died.
18 Joab sent someone to report to David all the details of the battle. 19 He commanded the messenger, “When you’ve finished telling the king all the details of the battle— 20 if the king’s anger gets stirred up and he asks you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the top of the wall? 21 At Thebez, who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth?[c][d] Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the top of the wall so that he died?(G) Why did you get so close to the wall?’—then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hethite is dead also.’” 22 Then the messenger left.
When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger reported to David, “The men gained the advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we counterattacked right up to the entrance of the city gate. 24 However, the archers shot down on your servants from the top of the wall, and some of the king’s servants died. Your servant Uriah the Hethite is also dead.”
25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this matter upset you because the sword devours all alike. Intensify your fight against the city and demolish it.’ Encourage him.”
26 When Uriah’s(H) wife heard that her husband, Uriah, had died, she mourned for him.[e] 27 When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the Lord considered what David had done to be evil.(I)
Nathan’s Parable and David’s Repentance
12 So the Lord sent Nathan to David.(J) When he arrived, he said to him:
There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very large flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up with him and with his children. From his meager food she would eat, from his cup she would drink, and in his arms she would sleep. She was like a daughter to him. 4 Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.[f]
5 David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb.”(K)
7 Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel,(L) and I rescued you from Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms,[g] and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more. 9 Why then have you despised the Lord’s command by doing what I consider[h] evil?(M) You struck down Uriah(N) the Hethite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife—you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword.(O) 10 Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house(P) because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hethite to be your own wife.’
11 “This is what the Lord says,(Q) ‘I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another[i] before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them in broad daylight.[j] 12 You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.’”[k]
13 David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”(R)
Then Nathan replied to David, “And the Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die.(S) 14 However, because you treated[l] the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.”(T) 15 Then Nathan went home.
The Death of Bathsheba’s Son
The Lord struck the baby that Uriah’s(U) wife had borne to David, and he became deathly ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.(V) 17 The elders of his house stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
18 On the seventh day the baby died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him the baby was dead. They said, “Look, while the baby was alive, we spoke to him, and he wouldn’t listen to us. So how can we tell him the baby is dead? He may do something desperate.”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, he guessed that the baby was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the baby dead?”
“He is dead,” they replied.
20 Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat. So they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, “Why have you done this? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”
22 He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’(W) 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”(X)
The Birth of Solomon
24 Then David comforted(Y) his wife Bathsheba; he went to her and slept with her. She gave birth to a son and named[m] him Solomon.[n](Z) The Lord loved him, 25 and he sent a message through the prophet Nathan, who named[o] him Jedidiah,[p] because of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 11:3 DSS add Joab’s armor-bearer
- 11:11 Lit servants
- 11:21 LXX reads Jerubbaal
- 11:21 = Gideon
- 11:26 Lit her husband
- 12:4 Lit for the man who had come to him
- 12:8 Lit bosom
- 12:9 Alt Hb tradition reads what he considers
- 12:11 Or to your neighbor
- 12:11 Lit in the eyes of this sun
- 12:12 Lit and before the sun
- 12:14 Alt Hb tradition, one LXX ms; MT reads treated the enemies of; DSS read treated the word of
- 12:24 Alt Hb tradition reads he named
- 12:24 In Hb, the name Solomon sounds like “peace.”
- 12:25 Or prophet to name
- 12:25 = Beloved of the Lord
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.