# Psalms 51.2

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**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 1. <sup>For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.</sup> Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
>
> **2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.**
>
> 3. For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. (Psalms 51:1-4, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 1. <b>For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. </b> Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
>
> **2. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.**
>
> 3. For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. 4. Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge. (Psalms 51:1-4, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 1. To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 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. (Psalms 51:1-4, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 1. To the Overseer., A Psalm of David, in the coming in unto him of Nathan the prophet, when he hath gone in unto Bath-Sheba. Favour me, O God, according to Thy kindness, According to the abundance of Thy mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
>
> **2. Thoroughly wash me from mine iniquity, And from my sin cleanse me,**
>
> 3. For my transgressions I do know, And my sin [is] before me continually. 4. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done the evil thing in Thine eyes, So that Thou art righteous in Thy words, Thou art pure in Thy judging. (Psalms 51:1-4, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Argument from Forgiveness](/codex/argument-from-forgiveness/), via [Psalms 51.1-12](/codex/psalms-51-1-12/)

**Lexicon:**

- [H2403 - chattath](/codex/h2403-chattath/), via [Psalms 51.2-5](/codex/psalms-51-2-5/)
- [H5771 - avon](/codex/h5771-avon/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.