Psalms 51
1 To the Chief Musician. A Melody of David. When Nathan the Prophet had come to him, after he had gone in unto Bath-sheba. Be favorable unto me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness, And, in the multitude of thy compassions, blot out my transgressions;
O God, be merciful to me, because you love me faithfully; because you are very merciful, erase [the record of] the ways that I disobeyed you!
2 Thoroughly wash me from mine iniquity, And, from my sin, make me pure;
Make me pure from the wrong things that I have done; make me clean from [the guilt of] my sin.
3 For, my transgressions, do, I, acknowledge, And, my sin, is before me continually:
[I say that] because I know the ways that I have disobeyed you; I cannot forget them.
4 Against thee—against thee alone, have I sinned, And, wickedness—in thine eyes, have I done, —That thou mayest, Be justified when thou speakest, —Be clear when thou judgest.
You, you only, are the one that I have [really] sinned against, and you have seen the evil things that I have done. When you say that I am guilty, you are right/correct, and when you judge me, you justly say [that I deserve to be punished].
5 Lo! in iniquity, was I brought forth, And, in sin, did my mother conceive me.
I have been a sinner since the day that I was born; [truly], I have been like that since my mother conceived me.
6 Lo! faithfulness, hast thou desired in the inward parts, Yea, in the hidden part, wilt thou cause me to know, wisdom.
What you desire is that I desire what is true in order that you [can] teach me how to act wisely.
7 Wilt thou cleanse me from sin with hyssop, That I may be pure? Wilt thou wash me, That I may be whiter, than snow?
Purify me from the guilt of my sins, and [after that happens], I will be clean [in my inner being]; cleanse me, and [then in my inner being] I will be (whiter than snow/very clean).
8 Wilt thou cause me to hear joy and gladness? The bones thou hast crushed would exult.
Allow/Cause me to be joyful [DOU] again; you have (crushed my spirit/completely discouraged me) [MTY]; [but now] let me rejoice [again].
9 Hide thy face from my sins, —And, all mine iniquities, blot out;
Do not continue to look at the sins [IDM] that I have committed; erase the record of the evil things that I have done.
10 A pure heart, create for me, O God, And, a steadfast spirit, renew within me.
O God, cause my inner being to be pure. Put new [thoughts] within me and make me faithful again.
11 Do not cast me away from thy presence, And, thy Holy Spirit, do not take from me:
Do not send me away from you [because of my sin], and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, And, with a willing spirit, wilt thou uphold me: —
Cause/Allow me to be happy again because of [knowing] that you have freed me [from the guilt of my sin], and make me willing [to obey you].
13 I would teach transgressors thy ways, And, sinners, unto thee, should return.
If you do that, I will [be able to] teach [other] sinners what you want them to do, and they will repent and begin to obey you.
14 Rescue me from shed-blood, O God, the God of my salvation, My tongue should shout thy righteousness;
O God, you are the one who saves me; forgive me for being guilty of causing someone [who was not my enemy] to die. [When you do that], I will sing joyfully about your being very good and righteous.
15 O My Lord! my lips, wilt thou open, And, my mouth, shall declare thy praise.
O Yahweh, help me to speak [in order that] I may praise you.
16 For thou wilt not desire sacrifice—that I should give it, Ascending-offering, will not please:
You are not pleased [only] with the sacrifices [that people bring to you]. If that were [enough to] please you, I would bring you sacrifices. You are not pleased with burnt offerings [alone].
17 The sacrifices of God, are a spirit that is broken, —A heart—broken and crushed, O God, thou wilt not despise.
The sacrifice that you [really] want is for people to be truly humble and sorry [for having sinned]; O God, you will not refuse that kind of sacrifice.
18 Do good, in thy good-pleasure, unto Zion, Wilt thou build the walls of Jerusalem!
[O God], be good to [the people who live in] Jerusalem [MTY], [and help them] to rebuild the city walls.
19 Then, shalt thou desire the sacrifices of righteousness, Ascending-sacrifice and whole burnt-offering, Then, shall ascend upon thine altar, young bulls.
When that happens, [they will bring you] the proper sacrifices, animals that they will completely burn, young bulls that they will burn on your altar, and you will be pleased.
