Revised Literal Translation
Psalms 51:4
4Against 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.
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 throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 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. 5Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know 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
- 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 9:6Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
- Genesis 20:6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
- Genesis 39:9There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
- Leviticus 5:19It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against Yhwh.
- Leviticus 6:2If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against Yhwh, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
- 2 Samuel 12:9Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of Yhwh, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
- James 2:9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convicted of the law as transgressors.
- Genesis 38:7And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yhwh; And Yhwh slew him.
- 2 Kings 17:17And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of Yhwh, to provoke him to anger.
- 2 Kings 21:6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of Yhwh, to provoke him to anger.
- Luke 15:21And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
- Psalms 50:4He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
- Luke 7:29And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
- Romans 3:4God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
- Acts 17:31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
- Romans 2:5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against 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
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries