Psalm 51–55

PSALM 51

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when ^†Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

^1aBe gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of ^bYour compassion ^cblot out my transgressions.

^2aWash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And ^bcleanse me from my sin.

³For ¹I ^aknow my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me.

^4aAgainst You, You only, I have sinned

And done what is ^bevil in Your sight,

So that ^cYou ¹are justified ²when You speak

And ³blameless when You judge.

⁵Behold, I was ^abrought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

⁶Behold, You desire ^atruth in the ¹innermost being,

And in the hidden part You will ^bmake me know wisdom.

⁷¹Purify me ^awith hyssop, and I shall be clean;

²Wash me, and I shall be ^bwhiter than snow.

⁸¹Make me to hear ^ajoy and gladness,

Let the ^bbones which You have broken rejoice.

^9aHide Your face from my sins

And blot out all my iniquities.

^10aCreate ¹in me a ^bclean heart, O God,

And renew ²a ^csteadfast spirit within me.

^11aDo not cast me away from Your presence

And do not take Your ^bHoly Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the ^ajoy of Your salvation

And sustain me with a ^bwilling spirit.

¹³Then I will ^ateach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners will ¹be ^bconverted to You.

¹⁴Deliver me from ^abloodguiltiness, O God, ^bthe God of my salvation;

Then my ^ctongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, ^1aopen my lips,

That my mouth may ^bdeclare Your praise.

¹⁶For You ^ado not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;

You are not pleased with burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a ^abroken spirit;

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

^18aBy Your favor do good to Zion;

^1bBuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then You will delight in ^1arighteous sacrifices,

In ^bburnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then ²young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

PSALM 52

Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the choir director. A ^†Maskil of David, ^•when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

¹Why do you ^aboast in evil, O mighty man?

The ^blovingkindness of God endures all day long.

²Your tongue devises ^adestruction,

Like a ^bsharp razor, ^cO worker of deceit.

³You ^alove evil more than good,

^bFalsehood more than speaking what is right.

¹Selah.

⁴You love all words that devour,

O ^adeceitful tongue.

⁵¹But God will break you down forever;

He will snatch you up and ^atear you away from your tent,

And ^buproot you from the ^cland of the living.

Selah.

⁶The righteous will ^asee and fear,

And will ^blaugh at him, saying,

⁷“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,

But ^atrusted in the abundance of his riches

And ^bwas strong in ¹his evil desire.”

⁸But as for me, I am like a ^agreen olive tree in the house of God;

I ^btrust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

⁹I will ^agive You thanks forever, because You have done it,

And I will wait on Your name, ^bfor it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

PSALM 53

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director; according to ^†Mahalath. A ^•Maskil of David.

^1aThe fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”

They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;

^bThere is no one who does good.

²God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there is ^aanyone who ¹understands,

Who ^bseeks after God.

^3aEvery one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Have the workers of wickedness ^ano knowledge,

Who eat up My people as though they ate bread

And have not called upon God?

⁵There they were in great ¹fear ^awhere no fear had been;

For God ^bscattered the bones of ²him who encamped against you;

You ^cput them to shame, because ^dGod had rejected them.

⁶Oh, that ^athe salvation of Israel ¹would come out of Zion!

When God ²restores His captive people,

³Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

PSALM 54

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A ^†Maskil of David, ^•when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”

¹Save me, O God, by ^aYour name,

And ¹vindicate me by ^bYour power.

^2aHear my prayer, O God;

^bGive ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have ^arisen against me

And ^bviolent men have ^csought my ¹life;

They have ^dnot set God before them.

²Selah.

⁴Behold, ^aGod is my helper;

The Lord is ¹the ^bsustainer of my soul.

⁵¹He will ^arecompense the evil to ²my foes;

^3bDestroy them ^cin Your ⁴faithfulness.

^61aWillingly I will sacrifice to You;

I will give ^bthanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

⁷For ¹He has ^adelivered me from all ²trouble,

And my eye has ^blooked with satisfaction upon my enemies.

PSALM 55

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A ^†Maskil of David.

^1aGive ear to my prayer, O God;

And ^bdo not hide Yourself from my supplication.

²Give ^aheed to me and answer me;

I am restless in my ^bcomplaint and ^1cam surely distracted,

³Because of the voice of the enemy,

Because of the ^apressure of the wicked;

For they ^bbring down ¹trouble upon me

And in anger they ^cbear a grudge against me.

⁴My ^aheart is in anguish within me,

And the terrors of ^bdeath have fallen upon me.

⁵Fear and ^atrembling come upon me,

And ^1bhorror has overwhelmed me.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and ^1abe at rest.

⁷“Behold, I would wander far away,

I would ^alodge in the wilderness.

¹Selah.

⁸“I would hasten to my place of refuge

From the ^astormy wind and tempest.”

⁹¹Confuse, O Lord, ^adivide their tongues,

For I have seen ^bviolence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around her upon her walls,

And iniquity and mischief are in her midst.

^11aDestruction is in her midst;

^bOppression and deceit do not depart from her ¹streets.

¹²For it is ^anot an enemy who reproaches me,

Then I could bear it;

Nor is it one who hates me who ^bhas exalted himself against me,

Then I could hide myself from him.

¹³But it is you, a man ¹my equal,

My ^acompanion and my ^2bfamiliar friend;

¹⁴We who had sweet ¹fellowship together

^aWalked in the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let ¹death come ^adeceitfully upon them;

Let them ^bgo down alive to ²Sheol,

For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall ^acall upon God,

And the Lord will save me.

^17aEvening and ^bmorning and at ^cnoon, I will complain and murmur,

And He will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will ^aredeem my soul in peace ¹from the battle which is against me,

For they are ^bmany who strive with me.

¹⁹God will ^ahear and ¹answer them—

Even the one ^bwho ²sits enthroned from of old—

Selah.

With whom there ³is no change,

And who ^cdo not fear God.

²⁰He has put forth his hands against ^athose who were at peace with him;

He has ^1bviolated his covenant.

²¹His ¹speech was ^asmoother than butter,

But his heart was war;

His words were softer than oil,

Yet they were drawn ^bswords.

^22aCast ¹your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;

^bHe will never allow the righteous to ^2cbe shaken.

²³But You, O God, will bring them down to the ^1apit of destruction;

^bMen of bloodshed and deceit will ^cnot live out half their days.

But I will ^dtrust in You.