Psalm 51–55

Psalm 51

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David When Nathan the Prophet Went to Him, After He Had Gone in to Bathsheba.

¹Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

^bBlot out my transgressions.

^2cWash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

³For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

^4dAgainst You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil ^ein Your sight—

^fThat You may be found just ¹when You speak,

And blameless when You judge.

^5gBehold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

⁶Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

^7hPurge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be ⁱwhiter than snow.

⁸Make me hear joy and gladness,

That the bones You have broken ^jmay rejoice.

⁹Hide Your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities.

^10kCreate in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your ^lHoly Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your ^mgenerous Spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners shall be converted to You.

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

The God of my salvation,

And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

¹⁶For ⁿYou do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering.

^17oThe sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then You shall be pleased with ^pthe sacrifices of righteousness,

With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Psalm 52

To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of David When Doeg the Edomite Went and Told Saul, and Said to Him, “David Has Gone to the House of Ahimelech.”

¹Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The goodness of God endures continually.

²Your tongue devises destruction,

Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

³You love evil more than good,

Lying rather than speaking righteousness.

Selah

⁴You love all devouring words,

You deceitful tongue.

⁵God shall likewise destroy you forever;

He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,

And uproot you from the land of the living.

Selah

⁶The righteous also shall see and fear,

And shall laugh at him, saying,

⁷“Here is the man who did not make God his strength,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches,

And strengthened himself in his ²wickedness.”

⁸But I am ^clike a green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

⁹I will praise You forever,

Because You have done it;

And in the presence of Your saints

I will wait on Your name, for it ³is good.

Psalm 53

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A Contemplation of David.

¹The ^afool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;

^bThere is none who does good.

²God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,

To see if there are any who understand, who ^cseek God.

³Every one of them has turned aside;

They have together become corrupt;

There is none who does good,

No, not one.

⁴Have the workers of iniquity ^dno knowledge,

Who eat up my people as they eat bread,

And do not call upon God?

^5eThere they are in great fear

Where no fear was,

For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you;

You have put them to shame,

Because God has despised them.

^6fOh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

When God brings back ²the captivity of His people,

Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

Psalm 54

To the Chief Musician. With Contemplation of David When the Ziphites Went and Said to Saul, “Is David Not Hiding with Us?”

¹Save me, O God, by Your name,

And vindicate me by Your strength.

²Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen up against me,

And oppressors have sought after my life;

They have not set God before them.

Selah

⁴Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is with those who ³uphold my life.

⁵He will repay my enemies for their evil.

⁴Cut them off in Your ⁵truth.

⁶I will freely sacrifice to You;

I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

⁷For He has delivered me out of all trouble;

^bAnd my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

Psalm 55

To the Chief Musician. With Contemplation of David.

¹Give ear to my prayer, O God,

And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.

²Attend to me, and hear me;

I ^aam ³restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,

³Because of the voice of the enemy,

Because of the oppression of the wicked;

^bFor they bring down trouble upon me,

And in wrath they hate me.

^4cMy heart is severely pained within me,

And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁵Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,

And horror has overwhelmed me.

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

I would fly away and be at rest.

⁷Indeed, I would wander far off,

And remain in the wilderness.

Selah

⁸I would hasten my escape

From the windy storm and tempest.”

⁹Destroy, O Lord, and divide their ⁴tongues,

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

¹⁰Day and night they go around it on its walls;

^eIniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.

¹¹Destruction is in its midst;

^fOppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.

^12gFor it is not an enemy who reproaches me;

Then I could bear it.

Nor is it one who hates me who has ^hexalted himself against me;

Then I could hide from him.

¹³But it was you, a man my equal,

ⁱMy companion and my acquaintance.

¹⁴We took sweet counsel together,

And ^jwalked to the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let death seize them;

Let them ^kgo down alive into ⁵hell,

For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

¹⁶As for me, I will call upon God,

And the Lord shall save me.

^17lEvening and morning and at noon

I will pray, and cry aloud,

And He shall hear my voice.

¹⁸He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,

For ^mthere were many against me.

¹⁹God will hear, and afflict them,

ⁿEven He who abides from of old.

Selah

Because they do not change,

Therefore they do not fear God.

²⁰He has ^oput forth his hands against those who ^pwere at peace with him;

He has broken his ⁶covenant.

^21qThe words of his mouth were smoother than butter,

But war was in his heart;

His words were softer than oil,

Yet they were drawn swords.

^22rCast your burden on the Lord,

And ^sHe shall sustain you;

He shall never permit the righteous to be ⁷moved.

²³But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction;

^tBloodthirsty and deceitful men ^ushall not live out half their days;

But I will trust in You.