Psalms 51:4

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 Living Translation (NLT)Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.

Context of Psalms 51:4

2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 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. 5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Psalms 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 man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
• Genesis 20:6And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld 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, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
• Leviticus 5:19It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the Lord.”
• Leviticus 6:2“If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor,
• 2 Samuel 12:9Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.
• James 2:9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
• Genesis 38:7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.
• 2 Kings 17:17And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.
• 2 Kings 21:6Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.
• Luke 15:21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
• Psalms 50:4He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
• Luke 7:29And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
• Romans 3:4Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.”
• Acts 17:31because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
• Romans 2:5But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in 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

• Conscience
• Conviction
• Desire
• God Continued...
• Homicide
• Prayer
• Quotations and Allusions
• Remorse
• Repentance
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Acknowledge
• Bloodguiltiness
• Clean
• Conceive
• Contrite
• Create
• Hide
• Iniquity
• Psalms
• Purge

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