New International Version
Psalms 51:18
18May it please you to prosper Zion, to 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Context of Psalms 51:18
16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; 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 25:22Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
- Psalms 102:16For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.
- Psalms 122:6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.
- Psalms 137:5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
- Isaiah 62:1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.
- Jeremiah 51:50You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the Lord in a distant land, and call to mind Jerusalem.”
- 2 Corinthians 11:28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
- Luke 12:32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
- Ephesians 1:5he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
- Philippians 2:13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.
- Nehemiah 2:17Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”
- Isaiah 58:12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
- Daniel 9:25“Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
- Micah 7:11The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries.
- Zechariah 2:5And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries