Psalm 51 Story Behind

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Create a clean heart for me, God!

Psalm 51

About the Story Behind Layer

The Story Behind the Psalm shows how each part of the psalm fits together into a single coherent whole. Whereas most semantic analysis focuses on discrete parts of a text such as the meaning of a word or phrase, Story Behind the Psalm considers the meaning of larger units of discourse, including the entire psalm.

The goal of this layer is to reconstruct and visualise a mental representation of the text as the earliest hearers/readers might have conceptualised it. We start by identifying the propositional content of each clause in the psalm, and then we identify relevant assumptions implied by each of the propositions. During this process, we also identify and analyse metaphorical language (“imagery”). Finally, we try to see how all of the propositions and assumptions fit together to form a coherent mental representation. The main tool we use for structuring the propositions and assumptions is a story triangle, which visualises the rise and fall of tension within a semantic unit. Although story triangles are traditionally used to analyse stories in the literary sense of the word, we use them at this layer to analyse “stories” in the cognitive sense of the word—i.e., a story as a sequence of propositions and assumptions that has tension.

  Story Behind Explainer

Summary Triangle

The story triangle below summarises the story of the whole psalm. We use the same colour scheme as in Participant Analysis. The star icon along the edge of the story-triangle indicates the point of the story in which the psalm itself (as a speech event) takes place. We also include a theme at the bottom of the story. The theme is the main message conveyed by the story-behind.

  Legend

Story Triangles legend
Propositional content (verse number)	Propositional content, the base meaning of the clause, is indicated by bold black text. The verse number immediately follows the correlating proposition in black text inside parentheses.
Common-ground assumption	Common-ground assumptions are indicated by gray text.
Local-ground assumption	Local-ground assumptions are indicated by dark blue text.
Playground assumption	Playground assumptions are indicated by light blue text.
	The point of the story at which the psalm takes place (as a speech event) is indicated by a gray star.
	If applicable, the point of the story at which the psalm BEGINS to take place (as a speech event) is indicated with a light gray star. A gray arrow will travel from this star to the point at which the psalm ends, indicated by the darker gray star.
	A story that repeats is indicated by a circular arrow. This indicates a sequence of either habitual or iterative events.
	A story or event that does not happen or the psalmist does not wish to happen is indicated with a red X over the story triangle.
	Connections between propositions and/or assumptions are indicated by black arrows with small text indicating how the ideas are connected.
Note: In the Summary triangle, highlight color scheme follows the colors of participant analysis.

• Background
• Paraphrase
• Story Triangles
• Assumptions
• Imagery

Background ideas

Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.

• 2 Sam 11-12 recounts David's affair with Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah), who became pregnant with David's child. David then ordered Uriah's death and married Bathsheba to cover up the affair. The prophet Nathan confronted David for his sin and prophesied the death of his child with Bathsheba and continuous strife within his household. In response to Nathan's rebuke, David confessed his sin (2 Sam 12:13). David and Bathsheba's son became very ill, and David desperately pleaded for his son's life. Nevertheless, the child died as Nathan had prophesied, and David then went and worshipped in the house of YHWH.
• In 2 Sam 7, YHWH made a covenant with David to raise up a son in his place and to ensure an everlasting Davidic dynasty. Though David was not permitted to build a temple to YHWH in Jerusalem, he was permitted to aid the preparations for the building task that would be completed by his son Solomon (1 Chr 22).
• Since the king is the representative of the people and is responsible for their well-being, David's individual restoration can lead to collective restoration.

Background situation

The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.

Expanded Paraphrase

The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.

  Legend

Expanded paraphrase legend
Close but Clear (CBC) translation	The CBC, our close but clear translation of the Hebrew, is represented in bold text.
Assumptions	Assumptions which provide background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences are represented in italics.

Text (Hebrew)	Verse	Expanded Paraphrase
לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃	1	For the music director to perform. A psalm. By David.
בְּֽבוֹא־אֵ֭לָיו נָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֑יא כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֝֗א אֶל־בַּת־שָֽׁבַע׃	2	This psalm was composed by David for or in response to the situation when Nathan the prophet came to him to rebuke him and possibly the ensuing sickness and death of his child with Bathsheba, when he had had illicit sexual intercourse with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah to cover it up and he confessed his sin.
חָנֵּ֣נִי אֱלֹהִ֣ים כְּחַסְדֶּ֑ךָ כְּרֹ֥ב רַ֝חֲמֶ֗יךָ מְחֵ֣ה פְשָׁעָֽי׃	3	Show mercy to me which I need, God, according to your loyalty because you have an existing relationship with me and you are full of loyalty; according to your abundant compassion wipe away the guilt, record, consequences, and moral stain of my transgressions which I hereby confess like one wipes off a dirty dish or ink needing to be erased from papyrus.
*הַרְבֵּה* כַּבְּסֵ֣נִי מֵעֲוֺנִ֑י וּֽמֵחַטָּאתִ֥י טַהֲרֵֽנִי׃	4	Wash me thoroughly not in part from my iniquity like a fuller washes filth off of a garment, and cleanse me from my sin as if it were ritual impurity,
כִּֽי־פְ֭שָׁעַי אֲנִ֣י אֵדָ֑ע וְחַטָּאתִ֖י נֶגְדִּ֣י תָמִֽיד׃	5	because I am [continually] aware of and acknowledge my transgressions which is prerequisite for receiving forgiveness, and my sin is constantly in front of me.
לְךָ֤ לְבַדְּךָ֨ חָטָאתִי֮ וְהָרַ֥ע בְּעֵינֶ֗יךָ עָ֫שִׂ֥יתִי לְ֭מַעַן תִּצְדַּ֥ק *בְּדַבֵּרְךָ* תִּזְכֶּ֥ה בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ׃	6	Against you because all sin is ultimately against you alone hyperbolically speaking I confess I have sinned or at least that is what I am emphasizing now as I address you, even if I have offended others who will need to be addressed subsequently, and I confess I have done what is evil in your eyes you whose will determines what is good and evil, such that you are in the right if others presumptuously judge you whenever you speak accusatory words,[and such that] you are faultless if others presumptuously accuse you of wrongdoing whenever you judge and condemn and sentence.
הֵן־בְּעָו֥וֹן חוֹלָ֑לְתִּי וּ֝בְחֵ֗טְא יֶֽחֱמַ֥תְנִי אִמִּֽי׃	7	Look, hyperbolically speaking I was born already with the guilt and evil character that comes from being a human embroiled in iniquity such that I cannot even imagine a time when I followed your ways without defect, and I was already in a state of being enmeshed in guilt as soon as my mother conceived me.
הֵן־אֱ֭מֶת חָפַ֣צְתָּ בַטֻּח֑וֹת *וּבַסָתֻם* חָכְמָ֥ה תוֹדִיעֵֽנִי׃	8	Look, you desire truth and honest confession in the covered places my internal organs that represent my concealed inner person and character, and you make me know wisdom that gives me insight into my sin that only you can provide in the closed-off place where no one but you can see who I really am.
תְּחַטְּאֵ֣נִי בְאֵז֣וֹב וְאֶטְהָ֑ר תְּ֝כַבְּסֵ֗נִי וּמִשֶּׁ֥לֶג אַלְבִּֽין׃	9	[Would you please] purify me as if ritually from my impurity with hyssop, so that I will be morally clean;[would you please] wash me from my sin, so that I will be morally whiter than snow.
תַּ֭שְׁמִיעֵנִי שָׂשׂ֣וֹן וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה תָּ֝גֵ֗לְנָה עֲצָמ֥וֹת דִּכִּֽיתָ׃	10	[Would you please] make me hear sounds that result from gladness and joy in the assembly of joyful worshipers;[so that] the bones that represent my inner person that you have crushed as a consequence of my sin leaving me in anguish and possibly ill or grieving the (anticipated) loss of my son might rejoice because of my salvation from adversity .
הַסְתֵּ֣ר פָּ֭נֶיךָ מֵחֲטָאָ֑י וְֽכָל־עֲוֺ֖נֹתַ֣י מְחֵֽה׃	11	Hide your face metaphorically from my sins and act as if you take no account of them, and wipe away metaphorically all my iniquities.
לֵ֣ב טָ֭הוֹר בְּרָא־לִ֣י אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְר֥וּחַ נָ֝כ֗וֹן חַדֵּ֥שׁ בְּקִרְבִּֽי׃	12	Create or refashion a clean heart or character or will for me to follow you, God, because I can only hope to follow you faithfully if you transform my inner person and renew a steadfast spirit that will not falter again within me as I tried to have before but failed.
אַל־תַּשְׁלִיכֵ֥נִי מִלְּפָנֶ֑יךָ וְר֥וּחַ קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ אַל־תִּקַּ֥ח מִמֶּֽנִּי׃	13	Even though you have the right do not cast me away from before you because I long to be in your presence, and do not take your holy spirit with which/whom you empower me with your presence away from me because I do not want to be estranged from you or because I do not want to lose your empowerment to rule as king.
הָשִׁ֣יבָה לִּ֭י שְׂשׂ֣וֹן יִשְׁעֶ֑ךָ וְר֖וּחַ נְדִיבָ֣ה תִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃	14	Restore to me the gladness like I had before that results from your salvation from adversities and enemies which I have experienced in the past , and [would you please] support me by creating within me and supplying me with a willing spirit that follows your ways steadfastly with my whole heart.
אֲלַמְּדָ֣ה פֹשְׁעִ֣ים דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים אֵלֶ֥יךָ יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃	15	If you restore me I intend to teach other transgressors —namely, fellow Israelites who are walking in covenant disobedience and suffering accordingly— your ways that they should follow, so that more sinners will turn back in repentance to you either for the first time or to renewed obedience and pursue covenant obedience.
הַצִּ֘ילֵ֤נִי מִדָּמִ֨ים׀ אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים אֱלֹהֵ֥י תְּשׁוּעָתִ֑י תְּרַנֵּ֥ן לְ֝שׁוֹנִ֗י צִדְקָתֶֽךָ׃	16	Deliver me from the threat of being the victim of bloodshed at the hands of enemies who unjustly attack me especially in light of the prophesied perpetual strife within my house, God, the God who saves me from adversities and enemies in the past and hopefully again now,[so that] my tongue will shout for joy about your righteousness because in your righteousness you will have saved me from undeserved adversities and/or unjust attacks by my enemies.
אֲ֭דֹנָי שְׂפָתַ֣י תִּפְתָּ֑ח וּ֝פִ֗י יַגִּ֥יד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃	17	Lord to whom I am rightfully and willingly subject,[would you please] open my lips which are currently closed because of my adversity, so that my mouth will report praise concerning you for your character, salvific deeds, and mercy towards me.
כִּ֤י ׀ לֹא־תַחְפֹּ֣ץ זֶ֣בַח וְאֶתֵּ֑נָה ע֝וֹלָ֗ה לֹ֣א תִרְצֶֽה׃	18	For hyperbolically speaking you do not delight in sacrifice[s] at least as much as or in lieu of such heartfelt praise, or else if you would delight in sacrifices, I would to give [them] hypothetically; presuming that is possible as is now the case, hyperbolically speaking you are not pleased with burnt offering[s] at least not by that sacrifice alone apart from a broken heart.
*זִבְחִי* אֱלֹהִים֮ ר֪וּחַ נִשְׁבָּ֫רָ֥ה לֵב־נִשְׁבָּ֥ר וְנִדְכֶּ֑ה אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לֹ֣א תִבְזֶֽה׃	19	In place of a burnt offering the sacrifices [acceptable to] God in the sphere of my life in this world that is your cosmic temple are broken spirit[s] my inner being invisible to all but you that has been humbled by adversity and your discipline for my sin; a broken and crushed heart my will and desire that have been chastised and humbled by your disciplinary measures, God, you do not despise like you do wrong sacrifices offered without a humble heart.
הֵיטִ֣יבָה בִ֭רְצוֹנְךָ אֶת־צִיּ֑וֹן תִּ֝בְנֶ֗ה חוֹמ֥וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃	20	Since the restoration of the king is inextricably linked to the fortunes of the nation and because your holy city needs further development and because Israel will practice covenant obedience I request you to do good in ways you have not yet done or are not currently doing to Zion your holy mountain that represents all of Jerusalem in accord with what pleases you because I know that you long to bless and exalt Zion and restore your people; [would you please] build the walls of Jerusalem that are not yet complete so it can take its place as the strong center of your (eschatological) kingdom.
אָ֤ז תַּחְפֹּ֣ץ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֭דֶק עוֹלָ֣ה וְכָלִ֑יל אָ֤ז יַעֲל֖וּ עַל־מִזְבַּחֲךָ֣ פָרִֽים׃	21	When the Jerusalem temple is built and becomes the central worship site for Israel then you will delight in right sacrifices unlike the wrong sacrifices offered apart from a broken spirit and heartfelt praise because they are offered with the broken hearts of the sinners who turned back to you, in burnt offering[s] and whole offering[s] which will be included in the future temple cult; then [people] will offer up bulls on your altar in Jerusalem, instead of Gibeon, because the altar will have been moved to Jerusalem.

Story Triangles

(Click diagram to enlarge)

Verse	Text (Hebrew)	Text (CBC)	Proposition	Common Ground	Local Ground	Playground
1	לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃	For the music director. A psalm. By David.		• There is a music director who directs the performance of the psalm. • The psalm is performed with accompanying stringed instrument(s). • David is the patron of Hebrew psalmody.	• The psalm is designated for public performance. • The psalm is associated with David.	• David composed the psalm. • The psalm was composed for David. • The psalm was composed about David. • The psalm came to be associated with David after its composition.
2.1	בְּֽבוֹא־אֵ֭לָיו נָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֑יא	When Nathan the prophet came to him,	Nathan comes to David.	• The court prophet Nathan rebuked David concerning the Uriah and Bathsheba affair, prophesying the death of his son and perpetual strife within his household (2 Sam 12)After Nathan's confrontation, David's child with Bathsheba became very ill (see 2 Sam 12:15-23). David fasted and pleaded for the child's life before God all night long (possibly for seven days), but the child died nonetheless. When David learned the child was dead, he got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, went into the house of YHWH, and worshipped (v. 20).	• The content of the psalm is associated with the event in David's life when Nathan confronted him for his sin in regards to Uriah and Bathsheba.	• The psalm was composed spontaneously by David in response to Nathan's rebuke. • The psalm was composed after further reflection by David in response to Nathan's rebuke, perhaps in conjunction with his son's death (2 Sam 12:15-23). • The psalm was composed earlier than David and was appropriated by David to express his repentance. • The psalm was composed by someone other than David to be read as a fuller expression of David's repentance than 2 Sam 12:13. • The psalm was composed by someone other than David as a general penitential psalm that can be profitably read in the mouth of David, the archetypal penitent.
2.2	כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֝֗א אֶל־בַּת־שָֽׁבַע׃	when he had had sexual intercourse with Bathsheba.	David has sexual intercourse with Bathsheba.	• David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband Uriah to cover up the resulting pregnancy (2 Sam 11). • David repented of his sin (2 Sam 12:13).
3.1	חָנֵּ֣נִי אֱלֹהִ֣ים כְּחַסְדֶּ֑ךָ	Be merciful to me, God, according to your loyalty;	God is merciful to the psalmist according to God's loyalty.	• God is characterized by mercy (Exod 34:6). • God is characterized by loyalty (Exod 34:6-7).	• The psalmist is experiencing God's displeasure. • The psalmist has an existing relationship with God to which God can be said to be loyal.
3.2	כְּרֹ֥ב רַ֝חֲמֶ֗יךָ מְחֵ֣ה פְשָׁעָֽי׃	according to your abundant compassion wipe away my transgressions.	God wipes away all the psalmist's transgressions according to God's abundant compassion.	• God is characterized by compassion (Exod 34:6). • Sins are something that can be wiped away, as if removing them from the record (Neh 3:37; Isa 43:25; 44:22; Ps 51:3, 11; 109:14; cf. Jer 18:23). • God does often forgive sins, but this cannot be taken for granted (e.g., 1 Sam 15:25).	• The psalmist has sinned. • The psalmist desires forgiveness.	• The psalmist's sins are against God. • The psalmist's sins are against other people.
4.1	הַרְבֵּה כַּבְּסֵ֣נִי מֵעֲוֺנִ֑י	Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,	God washes the psalmist thoroughly from the psalmist's inquity.	• Washing in water was a frequent aspect of purification rituals (e.g., Num 19:7). • Sins make someone metaphorically dirty and can be washed away (e.g., Jer 2:22; 4:14).	• The psalmist desires complete removal of sin, not partial.	• Partial or incomplete forgiveness is a possibility.
4.2	וּֽמֵחַטָּאתִ֥י טַהֲרֵֽנִי׃	and cleanse me from my sin,	God cleanses the psalmist from the psalmist's sin.	• Sins make someone metaphorically dirty and can be washed away.
5.1	כִּֽי־פְ֭שָׁעַי אֲנִ֣י אֵדָ֑ע	because I know my transgressions,	The psalmist knows the psalmist's transgressions.	• Acknowledgement of one's sins is a prerequisite for receiving forgiveness (Ps 32:3–5; Prov 28:13).
5.2	וְחַטָּאתִ֖י נֶגְדִּ֣י תָמִֽיד׃	and my sin is constantly in front of me.	The psalmist's sin is constantly in front of the psalmist.	• Acknowledgement of one's sins is a prerequisite for receiving forgiveness (Prov 28:13).	• The psalmist feels the constant presence and awareness of sin.	• Sin is understood as something material and tangible. • Sin is understood to be metaphorically substantial and present.
6.1	לְךָ֤ לְבַדְּךָ֨ ׀ חָטָאתִי֮	Against you alone I have sinned,	The psalmist sins against God alone.	• Sin against people is also sin against God (e.g., Gen 39:8-9; Lev 5:20-26 [Eng. 6:1-7]; Num 5:5-8). • Sin against God may be more serious than sin against people, for which no divine forgiveness can be expected (1 Sam 2:25). • Confession of sin does not guarantee forgiveness (1 Sam 15:24, 30).	• The psalmist's sin and guilt are at least primarily before God.	• The psalmist committed sins directly against God that do not affect other people. • The psalmist uses hyperbole to emphasize the psalmist's primary guilt is before God, even if the sins were perpetrated against other people.
6.2	וְהָרַ֥ע בְּעֵינֶ֗יךָ עָ֫שִׂ֥יתִי	and I have done what is evil in your eyes,	The psalmist does what is evil in God's eyes.	• God has moral evaluations that have prescriptive force. • There are actions, words, and/or thoughts that are evil. • Saul was rejected as king because he did what was evil in God's eyes (1 Sam 15:19).
6.3	לְ֭מַעַן תִּצְדַּ֥ק בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ	such that you are in the right	God is in the right.		• There are potentially those who doubt that God's evaluation is right.	• God could have been wrong, like pagan deities sometimes are.
6.4	תִּזְכֶּ֥ה בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ׃	whenever you speak,	God speaks.		• God has spoken against the psalmist's sin.	• God regularly speaks.
6.5	הֵן־בְּעָו֥וֹן חוֹלָ֑לְתִּי	(and such that) you are faultless	God is faultless.		• There are potentially those who would attribute fault to God when he judges.	• God could have been at fault, like pagan deities sometimes are.
6.6	וּ֝בְחֵ֗טְא יֶֽחֱמַ֥תְנִי אִמִּֽי׃	whenever you judge.	God judges.	• God is the cosmic judge. • Like Shamash, the God of the psalmists is also a universal judge. In Ps 82, he condemns to death those gods responsible for injustice and violence. He is the 'judge of the earth' (Ps 94:2), whose function it is to establish justice for all the nations of the earth (Ps 82:8; 96:13; 98:9) (Keel 1997, 208).	• God has judged the psalmist's actions, words, and/or thoughts to be evil.	• Consequences or punishment are likely to follow judgment.
7.1	הֵן־אֱ֭מֶת חָפַ֣צְתָּ בַטֻּח֑וֹת	Look, I was born in iniquity,	The psalmist is born already having iniquity.	• Humans have an evil inclination already from childhood (Gen 8:21). • Hebrew words for sin like עון and חטא can refer either to the sinful acts themselves or the guilt that is incurred (e.g., Num 30:16; see HALOT).	• Sin is conceptualized as a substance or state in which one can be.	• The psalmist speaks hyperbolically to emphasize his negative self-appraisal as being utterly sinful. • The psalmist refers to a real state of sinfulness and/or guilt present already during gestation. • The sin/guilt refers to the (illicit) manner in which the psalmist's mother conceived him.
7.2	וּ֝בְסָתֻ֗ם חָכְמָ֥ה תוֹדִיעֵֽנִי׃	and in guilt my mother conceived me.	The psalmist's mother conceives the psalmist with the psalmist already having guilt.		• Guilt is something that can be incurred or felt from conception.	• The psalmist speaks hyperbolically to emphasize his negative self-appraisal as being utterly sinful. • The psalmist refers to a real state of sinfulness and/or guilt present already during gestation. • The sin/guilt refers to the (illicit) manner in which the psalmist's mother conceived him.
8.1	תְּחַטְּאֵ֣נִי בְאֵז֣וֹב וְאֶטְהָ֑ר	Look, you desire truth in the covered places,	God desires truth in the covered places.	• God knows the secret thoughts of people (1 Kgs 8:39; 1 Chr 28:9; Ps 44:22 [Eng. 21]; 139, esp. v. 4). • God desires sincere faithfulness from the heart, not merely external obedience (Deut 6:5; Sam 16:7). • The internal organs are seats of the mind, will, and emotions (e.g., Pss 7:10; 73:21; Prov 23:16). • God expects his people to speak the truth (Exod 20:16).	• God expects truth from people.	• Honest confession is an example of the truthfulness God desires.
8.2	תְּ֝כַבְּסֵ֗נִי וּמִשֶּׁ֥לֶג אַלְבִּֽין׃	and in the closed-off place you make me know wisdom.	God makes the psalmist know wisdom in the closed-off place.	• Wisdom may be attained after pardon of sins (Ben Sira 39:5-6).	• God alone can grant internalized wisdom that is otherwise unavailable.
9.1	תַּ֭שְׁמִיעֵנִי שָׂשׂ֣וֹן וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה	(would you please) purify me with hyssop,	God purifies the psalmist with hyssop.	• Hyssop was used in ritual purification rituals that included dipping the hyssop in blood (Lev 14;4, 6, 49, 51-52) or water (Num 19:18).	• There is an analogy between ritual purification and spiritual cleansing.
9.2	תָּ֝גֵ֗לְנָה עֲצָמ֥וֹת דִּכִּֽיתָ׃	so that I will be clean;	The psalmist is clean.	• Ritual cleanliness was required for access to God in his temple (e.g., Lev 7:19-20).		• The psalmist desires ritual cleansing in order to have access to God in his temple.
9.3	הַסְתֵּ֣ר פָּ֭נֶיךָ מֵחֲטָאָ֑י	(would you please) wash me,	God washes the psalmist.	• Washing in water was a frequent aspect of purification rituals (e.g., Num 19:7). • Dirty clothes needed to be washed. • Sins make someone metaphorically dirty and can be washed away (e.g., Jer 2:22; 4:14).
9.4	וְֽכָל־עֲוֺ֖נֹתַ֣י מְחֵֽה	so that I will be whiter than snow.	The psalmist is whiter than snow.	• White garments become whiter with laundering. • Whiteness is symbolic of moral cleanliness (Isa 1:18; Dan 11:35; 12:10).
10.1	לֵ֣ב טָ֭הוֹר בְּרָא־לִ֣י אֱלֹהִ֑ים	(would you please) Make me hear gladness and joy;	God makes the psalmist hear gladness and joy.		• Joy and gladness have audible manifestations.
10.2	וְר֥וּחַ נָ֝כ֗וֹן חַדֵּ֥שׁ בְּקִרְבִּֽי׃	(so that) the bones ... might rejoice.	The bones rejoice	• Bones sometimes represent the inner or whole person (DCH) (e.g., Ps 35:10; Prov 3:8; 15:30; 16:24; Jer 20:9; 1QH 13 35; 19 21).
10.3	אַל־תַּשְׁלִיכֵ֥נִי מִלְּפָנֶ֑יךָ	that you have crushed	God crushes the bones.	• Bones may be spoken of as crushed (or similar terms) due to suffering, often as divine punishment for sin (Ps 32:3-4; 38:4; Isa 38:13; Lam 3:4). • David's son died as a consequence of his sin (2 Sam 12:15-23), which was prophesied by Nathan after David's initial confession (2 Sam 12:14)Before David's confession (2 Sam 12:13), Nathan prophesied perpetual strife within David's household as a result of his sin (2 Sam 12:10-12).	• The psalmist has experienced (metaphorically) bone-crushing suffering as a result of his sin. • God is the ultimate (if not secondary) cause of the psalmist's suffering.	• God has actively crushed the psalmist's bones in (corrective) discipline. • The psalmist has suffered due to the natural consequences of his own sin. • The psalmist's suffering is due to the wearying burden of his own conscience. • David is suffering because of his son's (impending?) death. • David is suffering because of (anticipated?) continual strife within his household. • It is quite possible that the primary psalm in 51:3–19 was used in a ritual of repentance and healing for a sick person and was designed for recitation in a private sickroom, aided perhaps by a priest (for the elaboration of such ceremonies, see K. Seybold, Das Gebet, and more briefly in K. Seybold and U. B. Müller, Sickness and Healing, Biblical Encounter Series [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1981], 43–56—though Seybold [Das Gebet, 63–64] is not sure that Ps 51 belongs to such rituals). In a somewhat similar manner, E. S. Gerstenberger (Der bittende Mensch) has argued that individual laments were used in familial contexts for persons threatened by a wide range of afflictions and troubles. A ritual expert—a liturgist, but not a priest—participated with the needy person in rites of healing and restoration. The individual was never ill or otherwise threatened alone, because the group to which the ill person belonged was involved in the condition of the sufferer. The penitential psalms would seem to fit such contexts (see the proposed “setting” for Ps 6 by Gerstenberger, Psalms: Part 1, FOTL 14 [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988], 62). (Tate 1998: 11-12).
11.1	וְר֥וּחַ קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ אַל־תִּקַּ֥ח מִמֶּֽנִּי׃	Hide your face from my sins,	God hides God's face from the psalmist's sins.
11.2	הָשִׁ֣יבָה לִּ֭י שְׂשׂ֣וֹן יִשְׁעֶ֑ךָ	and wipe away all my iniquities.	God wipes away all the psalmist's iniquities.
12.1	וְר֖וּחַ נְדִיבָ֣ה תִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃	Create a clean heart for me, God,	God creates a clean heart for the psalmist.	• God can actively transform the human heart to sincere piety (e.g., Deut 30:6; Ezek 11:19-20; 2 Mac 3-4). • The heart is the seat of the human will and mind.	• The psalmist needs a new or transformed heart from the Lord to be clean.
12.2	אֲלַמְּדָ֣ה פֹשְׁעִ֣ים דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ	and renew a steadfast spirit within me.	God renews a steadfast spirit in the psalmist.	• The human spirit is the immaterial essence of human beings (e.g., Pss 32:2; 78:8).		• The psalmist previously had a steadfast spirit that was affected by the sin and needs renewal.
13.1	וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים אֵלֶ֥יךָ יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃	Do not cast me away from before you,	God does not cast the psalmist away from before God.	• A king could dismiss subjects at will and refuse to grant access. • God could reject and dismiss disobedient kings like Saul (1 Sam 15:23, 26, 28).
13.2	הַצִּ֘ילֵ֤נִי מִדָּמִ֨ים ׀ אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים	and do not take your holy spirit away from me.	God does not take God's Holy Spirit away from the psalmist.	• God sent his Spirit to individuals to empower them to perform special acts of service (e.g., 1 Sam 10:10; 11:6; 16:13; et al.). • God could take his Spirit away from these individuals because of their sin, as he did when he rejected Saul in favor of David (1 Sam 16:13-14).
14.1	אֱלֹהֵ֥י תְּשׁוּעָתִ֑י	Restore to me the gladness that results from your salvation,	God restores to the psalmist the gladness that results from God's salvation.	• Salvation in the Hebrew Bible usually refers to deliverance from imminent, material danger in this life, rather avoidance of future judgment by the forgiveness of sins (e.g., Exod 14:13).	• The psalmist has experienced the joy of God's salvation in the past.	• The psalmist longs to receive salvation again. • The psalmist longs for a renewed of the joy that came from a prior experience of salvation.
14.2	תְּרַנֵּ֥ן לְ֝שׁוֹנִ֗י צִדְקָתֶֽךָ׃	and (would you please) support me with a willing spirit.	God supports the psalmist with a willing spirit.	• Willingness to serve God apart from compulsion--often in the form of a free will offering--is an important part of genuine piety (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22, 29; Judg 5:2, 9; 1 Chr 29:5, 9, 31; 2 Chr 29:31; 35:8; Ps 110:3?; but see Ezra 7:15 where willingness seems to be propagandistic and political in nature). For similar lexemes with similar usage, see, e.g., Isa 1:19; 1 Chr 28:9.
15.1	אֲ֭דֹנָי שְׂפָתַ֣י תִּפְתָּ֑ח	May I teach transgressors your ways,	The psalmist teaches transgressors God's ways.	• Divinely taught wisdom should be taught to others (Ben Sira 39:6-11).		• The psalmist has some position of authority or influence over transgressors. in order to receive a hearing.
15.2	וּ֝פִ֗י יַגִּ֥יד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃	so that sinners will return to you.	Sinners return to God.	• Returning to God is a conceptual metaphor for repentance (e.g., 1 Kgs 8:33).	• Other sinners than the psalmist are currently far removed from God.	• The psalmist has some influence on other sinners.
16.1	כִּ֤י ׀ לֹא־תַחְפֹּ֣ץ זֶ֣בַח	Deliver me from bloodshed, God,	God delivers the psalmist from bloodshed.	• Bloodshed often implies violent shedding of innocent blood (e.g., Gen 4:10). • Illegitimate, violent bloodshed brings guilt and complicity on the head of the offender and often has negative consequences (e.g., Exod 22:1). • The avoidance and incurring of bloodguilt is a major theme in the David narratives (see Shepherd 2023). • David's murder of Uriah entails incurring bloodguilt. • Someone responsible for warning sinners to turn from their sins to avoid destruction may incur bloodshed or bloodguilt for failing to do so (cf. Ezek 3:17–19; 33:7–9; see Goldingay 1978). • The psalmists' enemies are often men of bloodshed (e.g., Pss 5:7; 26:9; 55:24; 59:3; 139:19).	• The psalmist is in danger of the consequences of bloodshed/bloodguilt that is either already or potentially incurred.	• The psalmist asks for protection from bloodshed intended by the psalmist's enemies against him. • The psalmist asks for forgiveness for bloodshed he has already physically perpetrated. • The psalmist asks to avoid bloodguilt that would be incurred if he did not teach transgressors God's ways.
16.2	וְאֶתֵּ֑נָה	the God who saves me;	God saves the psalmist.	• Salvation in the Hebrew Bible usually refers to deliverance from imminent, material danger in this life, rather than avoidance of future judgment by the forgiveness of sins (e.g., Exod 14:13).		• God has saved the psalmist in the past. • The psalmist anticipates God's saving him in response to his prayer.
16.3	ע֝וֹלָ֗ה לֹ֣א תִרְצֶֽה׃	(so that) my tongue will shout for joy about your righteousness.	The psalmist's tongue shouts for joy about God's righteousness.	• God's righteousness and justice entails punishment of sinners (e.g., Exod 34:7).	• As with v. 14a, salvation leads to joy.	• The psalmist's anticipated experience of joy in the proclamation of God's righteousness implies that the psalmist will no longer be subject to God's punishment.
17.1	זִֽבְחֵ֣י אֱלֹהִים֮ ר֪וּחַ נִשְׁבָּ֫רָ֥ה	Lord, (would you please) open my lips,	The Lord opens the psalmist's lips.	• God has power over the mouths of people to control or at least (dis)allow speech (Luke 1:20-22, 64).	• God is either actively closing the psalmist's lips or else passively not empowering him to speak.
17.2	לֵב־נִשְׁבָּ֥ר וְנִדְכֶּ֑ה	so that my mouth will report praise concerning you,	The psalmist's mouth reports praise concerning the Lord.	• God is worthy of praise, and it is good for his people to praise him.		• The psalmist's sin and/or suffering are preventing him from offering praise to God.
18.1	אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לֹ֣א תִבְזֶֽה׃	because you do not delight in sacrifice(s),	The Lord does not delight in sacrifice.	• Sacrifices were repeatedly required by God throughout the Hebrew Bible. • In the temple cult, penitence was generally accompanied with animal sacrifices. • Ps 4:6 [Eng. 5] “Offer the prescribed sacrifices and trust in the Lord”Ps 20:4 [Eng. 3] “May he take notice of all your offerings; may he accept your burnt sacrifice.”Some Psalms downplay sacrifice in favor of more introspective, “spiritual” expressions of piety, but even here sacrifice is usually presumed. • Ps 40:7 [Eng. 6] Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—but my ears you have opened—burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.”God does delight in right sacrifices (v. 21).	• There is something lacking in the sacrifices such that they do not please God, even if they are required by him. • The psalmist is compromised by sin.	• Sacrifices are not enough to please God if the offerers are compromised by sin (i.e., they are morally unclean). • Sacrifices do not please God if they are offered inappropriately by ritually unclean people. • Sacrifices do not please God if they are not offered with willing spirits (cf. v. 14b). • Sacrifices do not please God only in a relative sense, since heartfelt devotion in the inner person is of a higher priority. • God dislikes and rejects sacrifices.
18.2	הֵיטִ֣יבָה בִ֭רְצוֹנְךָ אֶת־צִיּ֑וֹן	or else I would give (it/them)	the psalmist gives
18.3	תִּ֝בְנֶ֗ה חוֹמ֥וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃	you are not pleased burnt offering.	the Lord is not pleased with burnt offerings
19.1	אָ֤ז תַּחְפֹּ֣ץ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֭דֶק עוֹלָ֣ה וְכָלִ֑יל	The sacrifices (acceptable to) God are broken spirit(s);	God accepts broken spirits as sacrifices.	• A broken spirit refers to a human spirit that has been humbled by adversity and/or discipline (Isa 61:1).	• The psalmist is expected to bring an offering of some sort. • The offering of the humbled self is better than the offering of a material sacrifice.
19.2	אָ֤ז יַעֲל֖וּ עַל־מִזְבַּחֲךָ֣ פָרִֽים׃	a broken and crushed heart, God, you do not despise.	God does not despise a broken and crushed heart.	• God approves of and welcomes those with humble hearts (Ps 34:19).		• The psalmist can anticipate restoration and acceptance because of God's demonstrated character.
20.1	הֵיטִ֣יבָה בִ֭רְצוֹנְךָ אֶת־צִיּ֑וֹן	Do good to Zion in accord with what pleases you;	God does good to Zion in accord with what pleases him.	• God desires what is good for his people and the city of Jerusalem. • A so-called Zion theology expresses deep concern over Mt. Zion and the city of Jerusalem as the place God has chosen to dwell (in his temple) and the seat of the Davidic king who rules in his name. In eschatological contexts, Zion is expected to become the great center of God's rule on earth to which all the nations stream to do obeisance (e.g., Isa 2:2-4; Mic 4:1-4). This theological emphasis is generally considered a relatively late development in Israel's history. • Zion seems to have originally referred to a mountain fortress that David captured and renamed the city of David (2 Sam 5:7, 9; 1 Kgs 8:1; 2 Kgs 19:31; 1 Chr 11:5; 2 Chr 5:2). Later, Zion came to refer to the temple mount or--by metonymy--the larger city of Jerusalem (e.g., 2 Kgs 19:21; Ps 87:1-3; 102:22[21]; 126:1; 128:5; 132:13; 133:3; 135:21; 137:1, 3-5; 147:12; Song 3:10-11; Isa 1:8, 26-27; 4:3-5; 8:18; 12:6; 18:7; 24:23; 30:19; 33:20; 52:1; 60:14; Jer 50:28; Amos 6:1; Zech 8:3; Zech 9:13; Sir 36:19; 1 Macc 4:37; Hebrews 12:22) (See TWOT, p. 764).	• The psalmist (or later scribe) is also concerned with the wellbeing of Jerusalem. • Jerusalem has not experienced the fulness of God's goodness.	• The psalmist has some sense of responsibility for the city of Jerusalem. • Jerusalem is in ruins or at least not thriving. • David may be referred to metonymically as Zion/Jerusalem, in which case vv. 20-21 should be understood to refer metaphorically to David's restoration (Ross 2019).
20.2	תִּ֝בְנֶ֗ה חוֹמ֥וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃	(would you please) build the walls of Jerusalem.	God builds the walls of Jerusalem.	• David captured the strong walled Jebusite city of Jerusalem without destruction of the walls, resided within the fortress, and built up the city and a palace within the walls (2 Sam 5:6-12; 1 Chr 11:4-9). The walls of Jerusalem were thus intact and secure during the Uriah and Bathsheba affair. • Solomon continued building up Jerusalem, including the royal palace, temple, and walls (1 Kgs 3:1; 9:15). • In 587 or 586 BCE, the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem including its temple and the surrounding city walls (2 Kgs 25:1-21; 2 Chr 36:15-19). The walls in particular are noted as destroyed in 2 Chr 36:19. • In Nehemiah's time (5th century BCE), the walls of Jerusalem were still in ruins and needed to be rebuilt.	• Jerusalem is lacking secure walls.	• Jerusalem's walls were in ruins because of their destruction. • Jerusalem had walls, but they were not big or strong enough. • David may be referred to metonymically as Zion/Jerusalem, in which case vv. 20-21 should be understood to refer metaphorically to David's restoration (Ross 2019).
21.1	אָ֤ז תַּחְפֹּ֣ץ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֭דֶק עוֹלָ֣ה וְכָלִ֑יל	Then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole offerings;	God delights in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole offerings.	• While some sacrifices are the wrong sacrifices, others are the right or correct sacrifices to be offered (Deut 33:19; Ps 4:6). • The main high place was at Gibeon with the tabernacle and bronze altar (cf. 1 Kgs 3:3-4; ; 1 Chr 1:1-6). • Later biblical authors assert that Jerusalem was the only legitimate worship site (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:3-4; 23:1-20; cf. Deut 12:1-28).	• God is not opposed to sacrifices, but merely has certain expectations for sacrifices to be correct in order to be pleasing (cf. v. 14). Willing sacrifices from a contrite and forgiven heart are indeed pleasing to God. • It is good for sacrifices to be offered in Jerusalem. • Sacrifices are not being offered (at least correctly) at the time of composition.	• The temple has been destroyed and the sacrificial cult has been suspended. • The restoration of Jerusalem entails the restoration of the sacrificial cult.
21.2	אָ֤ז יַעֲל֖וּ עַל־מִזְבַּחֲךָ֣ פָרִֽים׃	then people will offer up bulls on your altar.	People offer up bulls on God's altar.	• David moved the ark to Jerusalem, set it inside a tent he had constructed for the purpose, and offered burnt offerings to YHWH (2 Sam 6; 1 Chr 13:1-14; 15:25-16:3). David was not allowed to build a temple for YHWH (2 Sam 7)Later in his life, David set up an altar on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, which would later be the site of Solomon's temple (2 Sam 24:1-25; 1 Chr 21:1-22:1; 2 Chr 3:1)In Solomon's time, the tabernacle and bronze altar were still located in Gibeon (the main high place) before the construction of God's temple in Jerusalem (1 Kgs 3:3-4; 1 Chr 1:1-6). • God's altar was traditionally located in God's temple. • The Jerusalem temple and its implements had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 or 586 BCE (2 Kgs 25:1-21; 2 Chr 36:15-19).	• People are not currently offering up bulls on God's altar. • With the restoration of Jerusalem will come the restoration of the temple cult.

There are currently no Imagery Tables available for this psalm.

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