New English Translation
Psalms 51:4
4Against you – you above all – I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.
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 away my wrongdoing! Cleanse me of my sin! 3For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin. Against you – you above all – I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. 5Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. 6Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom.
Read all of Psalms 51Psalms 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 9:6“Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind.”
- Genesis 20:6Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her.
- Genesis 39:9There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”
- Leviticus 5:19It is a guilt offering; he was surely guilty before the Lord.”
- Leviticus 6:2“When a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by deceiving his fellow citizen in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen,
- 2 Samuel 12:9Why have you shown contempt for the word of the Lord by doing evil in my sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife as your own! You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
- James 2:9But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators.
- Genesis 38:7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
- 2 Kings 17:17They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry.
- 2 Kings 21:6He passed his son through the fire and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
- Luke 15:21Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- Psalms 50:4He summons the heavens above, as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people.
- Luke 7:29(Now all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism.
- Romans 3:4Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”
- Acts 17:31because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
- Romans 2:5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves 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
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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