Christian Standard Bible
Psalms 51:18
18In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem.
Psalms 51:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
- New International Version (NIV)May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.
Context of Psalms 51:18
16You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering. 17The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God. In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Read all of Psalms 51Psalms 51:18 word by word
הֵיטִ֣יבָה בִ֭רְצוֹנְךָ אֶת־צִיּ֑וֹן תִּ֝בְנֶ֗ה חוֹמ֥וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 51:18
- Psalms 25:22God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.
- Psalms 102:16for the Lord will rebuild Zion; he will appear in his glory.
- Psalms 122:6Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure;
- Psalms 137:5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
- Isaiah 62:1I will not keep silent because of Zion, and I will not keep still because of Jerusalem, until her righteousness shines like a bright light and her salvation, like a flaming torch.
- Jeremiah 51:50You who have escaped the sword, go and do not stand still! Remember the Lord from far away, and let Jerusalem come to your mind.
- 2 Corinthians 11:28Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches.
- Luke 12:32Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.
- Ephesians 1:5He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
- Philippians 2:13For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:11In view of this, we always pray for you that our God will make you worthy of his calling, and by his power fulfill your every desire to do good and your work produced by faith,
- Nehemiah 2:17So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
- Isaiah 58:12Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.
- Daniel 9:25Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an Anointed One, the ruler, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat, but in difficult times.
- Micah 7:11A day will come for rebuilding your walls; on that day your boundary will be extended.
- Zechariah 2:5The declaration of the Lord: “I myself will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.”
Commentaries on Psalms 51:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion - This and the following verse most evidently refer to the time of the captivity, when the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and the temple service entirely discontinued; and, consequently, are long posterior to the times of David. Hence it has been concluded that the Psalm was not composed by David, nor in his time and that the title must be that of some other Psalm inadvertently affixed to this. The fourth verse…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion - From himself - his deep sorrow, his conscious guilt, his earnest prayer for pardon and salvation - the psalmist turns to Zion, to the city of God, to the people of the Lord. These, after all, lay nearer to his heart than his own personal salvation; and to these his thoughts naturally turned even in connection with his own deep distress. Such a prayer as is here offered he would also be more naturally led to offer…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-19Verses 16-19 Those who are thoroughly convinced of their misery and danger by sin, would spare no cost to obtain the remission of it. But as they cannot make satisfaction for sin, so God cannot take any satisfaction in them, otherwise than as expressing love and duty to him. The good work wrought in every true penitent, is a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, and sorrow for sin. It is a heart that is tender, and pliable to God's word. Oh that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19build up the walls of Jerusalem: These verses were likely added as a prayer for national restoration after the exile (see Psalms 42–43). The entire community in exile shared the feelings expressed in this psalm.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Do good, &c.--Visit not my sin on Thy Church. build ... walls--is to show favor; compare Psa 89:40, for opposite form and idea.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 51:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 51
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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