Psalm 51–55

A Prayer for Forgiveness

For the director of music. A psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after David’s sin with Bathsheba.

51God, be merciful to me

because you are loving.

Because you are always ready to be merciful,

wipe out all my wrongs.

²Wash away all my guilt

and make me clean again.

³I know about my wrongs,

and I can’t forget my sin.

⁴You are the only one I have sinned against;

I have done what you say is wrong.

You are right when you speak

and fair when you judge.

⁵I was brought into this world in sin.

In sin my mother gave birth to me.

⁶You want me to be completely truthful,

so teach me wisdom.

⁷Take away my sin, and I will be clean.

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness;

let the bones you crushed be happy again.

⁹Turn your face from my sins

and wipe out all my guilt.

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart, God,

and make my spirit right again.

¹¹Do not send me away from you

or take your Holy Spirit away from me.

¹²Give me back the joy of your salvation.

Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach your ways to those who do wrong,

and sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴God, save me from the guilt of murder,

God of my salvation,

and I will sing about your goodness.

¹⁵Lord, let me speak

so I may praise you.

¹⁶You are not pleased by sacrifices, or I would give them.

You don’t want burnt offerings.

¹⁷The sacrifice God wants is a broken spirit.

God, you will not reject a heart that is broken and sorry for sin.

¹⁸Do whatever good you wish for Jerusalem.

Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings,

and bulls will be offered on your altar.

God Will Punish the Proud

For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David is in Ahimelech’s house.”

52Mighty warrior, why do you brag about the evil you do?

God’s love will continue forever.

²You think up evil plans.

Your tongue is like a sharp razor,

making up lies.

³You love wrong more than right

and lies more than truth.

Selah

⁴You love words that bite

and tongues that lie.

⁵But God will ruin you forever.

He will grab you and throw you out of your tent;

he will tear you away from the land of the living.

Selah

⁶Those who do right will see this and fear God.

They will laugh at you and say,

⁷“Look what happened to the man

who did not depend on God

but depended on his money.

He grew strong by his evil plans.”

⁸But I am like an olive tree

growing in God’s Temple.

I trust God’s love

forever and ever.

⁹God, I will thank you forever for what you have done.

With those who worship you, I will trust you because you are good.

The Unbelieving Fool

For the director of music. By mahalath. A maskil of David.

53Fools say to themselves,

“There is no God.”

Fools are evil and do terrible things;

none of them does anything good.

²God looked down from heaven on all people

to see if anyone was wise,

if anyone was looking to God for help.

³But all have turned away.

Together, everyone has become evil;

none of them does anything good.

Not a single person.

⁴Don’t the wicked understand?

They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.

They do not ask God for help.

⁵The wicked are filled with terror

where there had been nothing to fear.

God will scatter the bones of your enemies.

You will defeat them,

because God has rejected them.

⁶I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!

May God bring them back.

Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,

and the people of Israel will be glad.

A Prayer for Help

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David when the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “We think David is hiding among our people.”

54God, save me because of who you are.

By your strength show that I am innocent.

²Hear my prayer, God;

listen to what I say.

³Strangers turn against me,

and cruel people want to kill me.

They do not care about God.

Selah

⁴See, God will help me;

the Lord will support me.

⁵Let my enemies be punished with their own evil.

Destroy them because you are loyal to me.

⁶I will offer a sacrifice as a special gift to you.

I will thank you, Lord, because you are good.

⁷You have saved me from all my troubles,

and I have seen my enemies defeated.

A Prayer About a False Friend

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David.

55God, listen to my prayer

and do not ignore my cry for help.

²Pay attention to me and answer me.

I am troubled and upset

³by what the enemy says

and how the wicked look at me.

They bring troubles down on me,

and in anger they attack me.

⁴I am frightened inside;

the terror of death has attacked me.

⁵I am scared and shaking,

and terror grips me.

⁶I said, “I wish I had wings like a dove.

Then I would fly away and rest.

⁷I would wander far away

and stay in the desert.

Selah

⁸I would hurry to my place of escape,

far away from the wind and storm.”

⁹Lord, destroy and confuse their words,

because I see violence and fighting in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they are all around its walls,

and evil and trouble are everywhere inside.

¹¹Destruction is everywhere in the city;

trouble and lying never leave its streets.

¹²It was not an enemy insulting me.

I could stand that.

It was not someone who hated me.

I could hide from him.

¹³But it is you, a person like me,

my companion and good friend.

¹⁴We had a good friendship

and walked together to God’s Temple.

¹⁵Let death take away my enemies.

Let them die while they are still young

because evil lives with them.

¹⁶But I will call to God for help,

and the Lord will save me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night I am troubled and upset,

but he will listen to me.

¹⁸Many are against me,

but he keeps me safe in battle.

¹⁹God who lives forever

will hear me and punish them.

Selah

But they will not change;

they do not fear God.

²⁰The one who was my friend attacks his friends

and breaks his promises.

²¹His words are slippery like butter,

but war is in his heart.

His words are smoother than oil,

but they cut like knives.

²²Give your worries to the Lord,

and he will take care of you.

He will never let good people down.

²³But, God, you will bring down

the wicked to the grave.

Murderers and liars will live

only half a lifetime.

But I will trust in you.