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Psalm 51:8-10
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 51:8-10
New Catholic Bible
8 But you desire sincerity of heart;[a]
and you endow my innermost being with wisdom.
9 Sprinkle me with hyssop[b] so that I may be cleansed;
wash me until I am whiter than snow.
10 Let me experience joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed exult.
Footnotes
- Psalm 51:8 Despite his sins against God’s teaching, the psalmist craves that teaching with his whole being; he wants to be among the wise who follow God’s law, not the fools who reject it (see Ps 37:30f). Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
- Psalm 51:9 Hyssop: a plant with many branchlets that is a convenient sprinkler, prescribed for sprinkling sacrificial blood or water for cleansing (see Ex 12:22; Lev 14:4; Num 19:18). Whiter than snow: purity beyond compare (see Isa 1:18; Dan 7:9; Rev 7:14; 19:14).
