New American Standard Bible 2020
Psalms 51:4
41Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is 2evil in Your sight, So that 3You 4are justified 5when You speak And 6blameless when You judge.
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
2Wash me thoroughly from my guilt And cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my wrongdoings, And my sin is constantly before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. 5Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in secret You will make wisdom known to me.
Read all of Psalms 51Psalms 51:4 word by word
לְךָ֤ לְבַדְּךָ֨׀ חָטָאתִי֮ וְהָרַ֥ע בְּעֵינֶ֗יךָ עָ֫שִׂ֥יתִי לְ֭מַעַן תִּצְדַּ֥ק בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ תִּזְכֶּ֥ה בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
- Against You, You onlyבַּדbad · aloneH905
- I have sinnedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- And doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- whatרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
- evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
- in Your sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
- Soמַ֫עַןma‛an · becauseH4616
- are justifiedצָדֵקtsâdaq · to justifyH6663
- when You speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: promiseH1696
- blamelessזָכָהzâkâh · to cleanH2135
- when You judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
Cross-references for Psalms 51:4
- Genesis 9:6Whoever sheds human blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made mankind.
- Genesis 20:6Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
- Genesis 39:9There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?”
- Leviticus 5:19It is a guilt offering; he was certainly guilty before the Lord.”
- Leviticus 6:2“When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord, and disavows the rightful claim of his neighbor regarding a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or regarding robbery, or he has extorted from his neighbor,
- 2 Samuel 12:9Why have you despised the word of the Lord, by doing evil in His sight? You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
- James 2:9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators.
- Genesis 38:7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord took his life.
- 2 Kings 17:17Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they practiced divination and interpreting omens, and gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him.
- 2 Kings 21:6And he made his son pass through the fire, interpreted signs, practiced divination, and used mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
- Luke 15:21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- Psalms 50:4He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people:
- Luke 7:29When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
- Romans 3:4Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found a liar, as it is written: “So that You are justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.”
- Acts 17:31because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”
- Romans 2:5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
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
In the dictionaries
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries