Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

²Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight;

so you are right in your verdict

and justified when you judge.

⁵Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;

you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

so that sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

you who are God my Savior,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵Open my lips, Lord,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart

you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸May it please you to prosper Zion,

to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,

in burnt offerings offered whole;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.