English Standard Version
Psalms 51:18
18Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Context of Psalms 51:18
16For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and 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 25:22Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
- Psalms 102:16For the Lord builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;
- Psalms 122:6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! "May they be secure who love you!
- Psalms 137:5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!
- Isaiah 62:1For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.
- Jeremiah 51:50"You who have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the Lord from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
- 2 Corinthians 11:28And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
- Luke 12:32"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
- Ephesians 1:5he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
- Philippians 2:13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:11To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,
- Nehemiah 2:17Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision."
- Isaiah 58:12And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.
- Daniel 9:25Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
- Micah 7:11A day for the building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
- Zechariah 2:5And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.'"
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries