David's penitential psalm, composed after the prophet Nathan confronted him over his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. The poem moves from desperate plea for mercy through unflinching confession of sin to a vision of restored worship and a rebuilt Zion. It is the most personal and theologically dense confession in the Hebrew Bible.
This psalm contains the most radical theology of sin and restoration in the Psalter. David does not merely confess a deed — he confesses a condition. 'In sin my mother conceived me' (v. 7) is not a statement about his mother's morality but about the depth of his entanglement with human brokenness. The psalm's central pivot comes at verse 12, where David asks for a 'clean heart' (lev tahor) and a 'steadfast spirit' (ruach nakhon) — language that echoes the creation account. David is not asking for forgiveness alone; he is asking to be re-created. The plea 'do not take your Holy Spirit from me' (v. 13) carries devastating weight: David has watched Saul lose the Spirit (1 Samuel 16:14) and knows what that looks like. He is begging not to become Saul. The psalm's climax inverts the entire sacrificial system — God does not want burnt offerings but a broken spirit (v. 19). This is not anti-cultic theology; it is the recognition that no external ritual can address what has gone wrong inside David.
Hebrew versification counts the superscription as verses 1-2, so what English Bibles call verse 1 ('Have mercy upon me') is verse 3 in the Hebrew. We follow WLC numbering throughout. The phrase 'against you, you alone, have I sinned' (v. 6) has troubled readers because David clearly sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, and the nation. The Hebrew is not denying horizontal harm but asserting that all sin is ultimately a violation of God's sovereignty — David broke God's moral order, and only God can restore it. The word chatah (v. 4, 'sin') means literally 'to miss the mark,' but in this context it carries the full weight of covenant-breaking rebellion.
The superscription ties this psalm directly to 2 Samuel 12:1-15, where Nathan confronts David with the parable of the poor man's lamb. The plea for hyssop (v. 9) recalls the purification rituals of Leviticus 14 (cleansing from skin disease) and Exodus 12:22 (the Passover blood). David's request for a 'new heart' anticipates Ezekiel 36:26 ('I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you'). The broken-spirit theology of verse 19 is echoed in Isaiah 57:15 and 66:2. The final two verses about rebuilding Zion's walls may reflect exilic editing, extending David's personal prayer into a national one. **Tradition comparisons:** The Latin Vulgate shaped Western theology here: Miserere mei Deus became the most famous penitential text in Western Christianity. The Miserere psalm was sung daily in monastic offices, set to music by Allegri (whose version was famously transcribe... (2 notable Vulgate renderings in this chapter) See the [Vulgate Psalms](/vulgate/psalms).
לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
KJV To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David,
בְּבוֹא־אֵ֭לָיו נָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֑יא כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֝֗א אֶל־בַּת־שָֽׁבַע׃
after he had gone in to Bathsheba. When Nathan the prophet came to him,
KJV when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
חׇנֵּ֣נִי אֱלֹהִ֣ים כְּחַסְדֶּ֑ךָ כְּרֹ֥ב רַ֝חֲמֶ֗יךָ מְחֵ֣ה פְשָׁעָֽי׃
Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to the abundance of your compassion, wipe out my rebellions.
KJV Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
chesed is the foundational covenant virtue — God's loyal commitment that persists even when the other party has defaulted. David appeals to it precisely because he has no merit of his own to invoke. The word appears first in the psalm because everything depends on it.
From the root rechem ('womb'). rachamim is not abstract pity but the gut-level tenderness a mother feels for the child she carried. David is appealing to the most visceral and unconditional form of divine love.
The heaviest of the three sin-words in Hebrew. pesha denotes deliberate rebellion against authority — a vassal revolting against a king. David uses this word for what he did because it was not an accident.
הֶ֭רֶב כַּבְּסֵ֣נִי מֵעֲוֺנִ֑י וּֽמֵחַטָּאתִ֥י טַהֲרֵֽנִי׃
Wash me thoroughly from my guilt, and from my sin cleanse me.
KJV Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
From chatah, 'to miss,' as an archer misses a target. The same word also means 'sin-offering' (Leviticus 4), creating a profound double meaning: the very word for the problem is also the word for the solution. David's sin (chattath) requires a sin-offering (chattath).
A priestly term from the Levitical purity system. When a priest declared someone tahor ('clean'), they were restored to full participation in communal worship. David needs more than forgiveness — he needs to be declared fit to stand before God again.
כִּֽי־פְ֭שָׁעַי אֲנִ֣י אֵדָ֑ע וְחַטָּאתִ֖י נֶגְדִּ֣י תָמִֽיד׃
For my rebellions — I know them, and my sin is before me continually.
KJV For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
לְךָ֤ לְבַדְּךָ֨ ׀ חָטָ֗אתִי וְהָרַ֣ע בְּעֵינֶ֣יךָ עָשִׂ֑יתִ לְמַ֤עַן ׀ תִּצְדַּ֥ק בְּדׇבְרֶ֗ךָ תִּזְכֶּ֥ה בְשׇׁפְטֶֽךָ׃
Against you — you alone — have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified when you speak and blameless when you judge.
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.
הֵן־בְּעָו֥וֹן חוֹלָ֑לְתִּי וּ֝בְחֵ֗טְא יֶֽחֱמַ֥תְנִי אִמִּֽי׃
Look — in guilt I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.
KJV Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
הֵן־אֱ֭מֶת חָפַ֣צְתָּ בַטֻּח֑וֹת וּ֝בְסָתֻ֗ם חׇכְמָ֥ה תוֹדִיעֵֽנִי׃
Look — you desire truth in the innermost being; so in the hidden depths, teach me wisdom.
KJV Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
תְּחַטְּאֵ֣נִי בְאֵז֣וֹב וְאֶטְהָ֑ר תְּ֝כַבְּסֵ֗נִי וּמִשֶּׁ֥לֶג אַלְבִּֽין׃
Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
KJV Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Hyssop was the delivery mechanism for purifying blood and water in Israel's most serious contamination rituals. Its presence here signals that David regards his sin as requiring the most extreme purification available under the Levitical system.
תַּ֭שְׁמִיעֵנִי שָׂשׂ֣וֹן וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה תָּ֝גֵ֗לְנָה עֲצָמ֥וֹת דִּכִּֽיתָ׃
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
KJV Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
הַסְתֵּ֣ר פָּ֭נֶיךָ מֵחֲטָאָ֑י וְכׇל־עֲוֺ֖נֹתַ֣י מְחֵֽה׃
Hide your face from my sins, and wipe out all my guilt.
KJV Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
לֵ֣ב טָ֭הוֹר בְּרָא־לִ֣י אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְר֥וּחַ נָ֝כ֗וֹן חַדֵּ֥שׁ בְּקִרְבִּֽי׃
Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
KJV Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Almost exclusively a divine verb in Hebrew. By using bara, David acknowledges that what he needs is beyond human capacity — only the God who created the world can create a clean heart.
lev is the center of volition and thought in Hebrew anthropology. tahor is the priestly term for ritual purity. David wants a decision-making center that is uncontaminated — a new inner self.
ruach here is the inner disposition or animating force of the person. nakhon means 'established, fixed' — a spirit that will not waver or collapse under temptation. David wants internal stability.
אַל־תַּשְׁלִיכֵ֥נִי מִלְּפָנֶ֑יךָ וְר֥וּחַ קׇ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ אַל־תִּקַּ֥ח מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
KJV Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
One of only three occurrences of this phrase in the Hebrew Bible. It refers to God's own Spirit given to empower and sustain those called to serve. David received this Spirit at his anointing (1 Samuel 16:13) and has seen firsthand what its withdrawal looks like in Saul.
הָשִׁ֣יבָה לִּ֭י שְׂשׂ֣וֹן יִשְׁעֶ֑ךָ וְר֖וּחַ נְדִיבָ֣ה תִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.
KJV Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
nedivah describes the disposition of someone who gives or serves freely, without compulsion. The same root gives us nadiv ('nobleman, prince') — one who acts from inner generosity. David wants a spirit that obeys God with eager willingness, not teeth-gritting determination.
אֲלַמְּדָ֣ה פֹשְׁעִ֣ים דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים אֵלֶ֥יךָ יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃
Then I will teach rebels your ways, and sinners will return to you.
KJV Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
הַצִּ֘ילֵ֤נִי מִדָּמִ֨ים ׀ אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים אֱלֹהֵ֥י תְשׁוּעָתִ֑י תְּ֝רַנֵּ֗ן לְשׁוֹנִ֥י צִדְקָתֶֽךָ׃
Deliver me from bloodguilt, God — God of my salvation! My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
KJV Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
The plural 'bloods' is the standard Hebrew expression for the guilt incurred by shedding innocent blood. It is the most direct acknowledgment in the psalm that David is guilty of murder.
Here tsedaqah refers to God's righteousness — his commitment to set things right. David will praise the very quality he violated, which is also the quality that enables his restoration.
אֲ֭דֹנָי שְׂפָתַ֣י תִּפְתָּ֑ח וּ֝פִ֗י יַגִּ֥יד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
KJV O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
כִּ֤י ׀ לֹא־תַחְפֹּ֣ץ זֶ֣בַח וְאֶתֵּ֑נָה ע֝וֹלָ֗ה לֹ֣א תִרְצֶֽה׃
For you do not desire sacrifice — I would give it; you take no pleasure in burnt offering.
KJV For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
זִֽבְחֵ֣י אֱלֹהִים֮ ר֤וּחַ נִשְׁבָּ֫רָ֥ה לֵב־נִשְׁבָּ֥ר וְנִדְכֶּ֑ה אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לֹ֣א תִבְזֶֽה׃
The sacrifices God accepts are a broken spirit; a broken and crushed heart — God, you will not despise.
KJV The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
nishbarah is the Niphal participle of shavar ('to break, shatter'). It describes a spirit that has been broken by external force — not self-induced humility but the shattering that results from encountering one's own sin and God's response to it.
הֵיטִ֥יבָה בִרְצוֹנְךָ֗ אֶת־צִ֫יּ֥וֹן תִּבְנֶ֗ה חוֹמ֥וֹת יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃
Do good to Zion in your favor; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
KJV Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
אָ֤ז תַּחְפֹּ֣ץ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֭דֶק עוֹלָ֣ה וְכָלִ֑יל אָ֤ז יַעֲל֖וּ עַל־מִזְבַּחֲךָ֣ פָרִֽים׃
Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices — burnt offering and whole offering; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
KJV Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.