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Psalm 51:3-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 51:3-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
I
3 Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4 Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
5 For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.(A)
6 Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.(B)
7 Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.[a](C)
8 Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9 Cleanse me with hyssop,[b] that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(D)
10 You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
Footnotes
- 51:7 In sin my mother conceived me: lit., “In iniquity was I conceived,” an instance of hyperbole: at no time was the psalmist ever without sin, cf. Ps 88:15, “I am mortally afflicted since youth,” i.e., I have always been afflicted. The verse does not imply that the sexual act of conception is sinful.
- 51:9 Hyssop: a small bush whose many woody twigs make a natural sprinkler. It was prescribed in the Mosaic law as an instrument for sprinkling sacrificial blood or lustral water for cleansing, cf. Ex 12:22; Lv 14:4; Nm 19:18.
Psalm 51:3-10
New International Version
Psalm 51:3-10
New International Version
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.(A)
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned(B)
and done what is evil in your sight;(C)
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.(D)
5 Surely I was sinful(E) at birth,(F)
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom(G) in that secret place.(H)
Psalm 51:3-10
King James Version
Psalm 51:3-10
King James Version
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.
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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