17 The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
18 Heb “cleanse me with hyssop.” “Hyssop” was a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33) used to apply water (or blood) in purification rites (see Exod 12:22; Lev 14:4–6, 49–52; Num 19:6–18. The psalmist uses the language and imagery of such rites to describe spiritual cleansing through forgiveness.
19 After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.
20 The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
21 I will be whiter than snow. Whiteness here symbolizes the moral purity resulting from forgiveness (see Isa 1:18).
22 Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.
23 May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.
24 In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.
25 In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”
26 See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. .
27 The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.
28 Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Turn your face away from my sins

and blot out all my guilt.

God, create a clean heart for me

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

NLTNew Living Translation

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Oh, give me back my joy again;

you have broken me—

now let me rejoice.

Don’t keep looking at my sins.

Remove the stain of my guilt.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within me.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,

and all my iniquities blot out.

Create a clean heart for me, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

KJV 1900King James Version

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness;

That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins,

And blot out all mine iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God;

And renew a right spirit within me.

Public Domain