ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Psalms 51

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"1. For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. 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. 5. Behold, I was brought forth 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 wilt make me to know wisdom. 7. Purify 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 a willing 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 show forth thy praise. 16. For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and 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 will thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt-offering and in whole burnt-offering: Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar." (Psalms 51:1-19, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 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. 5. Behold, I was born in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me. 6. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8. Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice. 9. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. 11. Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your holy Spirit from me. 12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit. 13. Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you. 14. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 15. Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise. 16. For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18. Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem. 19. Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar." (Psalms 51:1-19, WEB)

KJV (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. 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. conceive: Heb. warm 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. right: or, constant 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. bloodguiltiness: Heb. bloods 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. else: or, that I should 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." (Psalms 51:1-19, KJV)

YLT (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. 5. Lo, in iniquity I have been brought forth, And in sin doth my mother conceive me. 6. Lo, truth Thou hast desired in the inward parts, And in the hidden part Wisdom Thou causest me to know. 7. Thou cleansest me with hyssop and I am clean, Washest me, and than snow I am whiter. 8. Thou causest me to hear joy and gladness, Thou makest joyful bones Thou hast bruised. 9. Hide Thy face from my sin. And all mine iniquities blot out. 10. A clean heart prepare for me, O God, And a right spirit renew within me. 11. Cast me not forth from Thy presence, And Thy Holy Spirit take not from me. 12. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And a willing spirit doth sustain me. 13. I teach transgressors Thy ways, And sinners unto Thee do return. 14. Deliver me from blood, O God, God of my salvation, My tongue singeth of Thy righteousness. 15. O Lord, my lips thou dost open, And my mouth declareth Thy praise. 16. For Thou desirest not sacrifice, or I give [it], Burnt-offering Thou acceptest not. 17. The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit, A heart broken and bruised, O God, Thou dost not despise. 18. Do good in Thy good pleasure with Zion, Thou dost build the walls of Jerusalem. 19. Then Thou desirest sacrifices of righteousness, Burnt-offering, and whole burnt-offering, Then they offer bullocks on thine altar!" (Psalms 51:1-19, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
  • Audience: worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
  • Location: Israel, various periods
  • Time period: composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

Theological reading

Key words

Quoted in

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • 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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.