New Living Translation
Psalms 51:4
4Against 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.
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 clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 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. 5For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
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 9:6If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.
- Genesis 20:6In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.
- Genesis 39:9No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
- Leviticus 5:19This is a guilt offering, for you have been guilty of an offense against the Lord.”
- Leviticus 6:2“Suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the Lord. Suppose you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud,
- 2 Samuel 12:9Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.
- James 2:9But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
- Genesis 38:7But Er was a wicked man in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord took his life.
- 2 Kings 17:17They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger.
- 2 Kings 21:6Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.
- Luke 15:21His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
- Psalms 50:4He calls on the heavens above and earth below to witness the judgment of his people.
- Luke 7:29When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right, for they had been baptized by John.
- Romans 3:4Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”
- Acts 17:31For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
- Romans 2:5But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be 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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