New English Translation
Psalms 51:18
18Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! Fortify 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
16Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. 17The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit – O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject. Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! Fortify the walls of Jerusalem! 19Then you will accept the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings; then bulls will be sacrificed 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 25:22O God, rescue Israel from all their distress!
- Psalms 102:16when the Lord rebuilds Zion, and reveals his splendor,
- Psalms 122:6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May those who love her prosper!
- Psalms 137:5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled!
- Isaiah 62:1“For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly and her deliverance burns like a torch.”
- Jeremiah 51:50You who have escaped the sword, go, do not delay. Remember the Lord in a faraway land. Think about Jerusalem.
- 2 Corinthians 11:28Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern for all the churches.
- Luke 12:32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom.
- Ephesians 1:5He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will –
- Philippians 2:13for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:11And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith,
- Nehemiah 2:17Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”
- Isaiah 58:12Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’
- Daniel 9:25So know and understand: From the issuing of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.
- Micah 7:11It will be a day for rebuilding your walls; in that day your boundary will be extended.
- Zechariah 2:5But I (the Lord says) will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem and the source of 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
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