Psalms 51:4

Psalms 51:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
• New International Version (NIV)Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.

Context of Psalms 51:4

2Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against you — you alone — I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge. 5Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within.

Psalms 51:4 word by word

לְךָ֤ לְבַדְּךָ֨׀ חָטָאתִי֮ וְהָרַ֥ע בְּעֵינֶ֗יךָ עָ֫שִׂ֥יתִי לְ֭מַעַן תִּצְדַּ֥ק בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ תִּזְכֶּ֥ה בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Against thee, thee only, have I sinnedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• and doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• in thy sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• that thou mightest be justifiedצָדֵקtsâdaq · to justifyH6663
• when thou speakestדָבַרdâbar · to speak: promiseH1696
• be clearזָכָהzâkâh · to cleanH2135
• when thou judgestשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199

Cross-references for Psalms 51:4

• Genesis 9:6Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image.
• Genesis 20:6Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.
• Genesis 39:9No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”
• Leviticus 5:19It is a guilt offering; he is indeed guilty before the Lord.”
• Leviticus 6:2“When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security, or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor;
• 2 Samuel 12:9Why then have you despised the Lord’s command by doing what I consider evil? You struck down Uriah the Hethite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife — you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword.
• James 2:9If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
• Genesis 38:7Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord put him to death.
• 2 Kings 17:17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and angered him.
• 2 Kings 21:6He sacrificed his son in the fire, practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him.
• Luke 15:21The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’
• Psalms 50:4On high, he summons heaven and earth in order to judge his people:
• Luke 7:29(And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God’s way of righteousness, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism.
• Romans 3:4Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar, as it is written: That you may be justified in your words and triumph when you judge.
• Acts 17:31because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
• Romans 2:5Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.

Commentaries on Psalms 51:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned - This verse is supposed to show the impropriety of affixing the above title to this Psalm. It could not have been composed on account of the matter with Bath-sheba and the murder of Uriah; for, surely, these sins could not be said to have been committed against God Only, if we take the words of this verse in their common acceptation. That was a public sin, grievous, and against society at large, as well as against…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned - That is, the sin, considered as an offence against God, now appeared to him so enormous and so aggravated, that, for the moment, he lost sight of it considered in any other of its bearings. It “was” a sin, as all other sins are, primarily and mainly against God; it derived its chief enormity from that fact. We are not to suppose that David did not believe and notice that he had done wrong to people, or that he had…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Against You, You only: This is an exaggeration. The psalmist knows he also sinned against people (2 Samuel 11:2–4, 15–17), but his sin against God is more important. He expects God to rebuke him and will accept whatever verdict God gives (see Romans 3:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191-4. A plea for mercy is a confession of guilt. blot out--as from a register. transgressions--literally, "rebellions" (Psa 19:13; 32:1).Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 51:4

• Conscience
• Conviction
• Desire
• God Continued...
• Homicide
• Prayer
• Quotations and Allusions
• Remorse
• Repentance
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Acknowledge
• Bloodguiltiness
• Clean
• Conceive
• Contrite
• Create
• Hide
• Iniquity
• Psalms
• Purge

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