Font Size
Psalm 51:7-12
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 51:7-12
New Catholic Bible
7 Indeed, I was born in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.[a]
8 But you desire sincerity of heart;[b]
and you endow my innermost being with wisdom.
9 Sprinkle me with hyssop[c] so that I may be cleansed;
wash me until I am whiter than snow.
10 Let me experience joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed exult.
11 Hide your face from my sins,
and wipe out all my offenses.
12 Create[d] in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a resolute spirit within me.
Footnotes
- Psalm 51:7 All human beings have a congenital inclination toward evil (see Gen 8:21; 1 Ki 8:46; Job 4:17; 14:4; 15:14; 25:4; Prov 20:9). God must take account of this situation, which is a mitigating circumstance, and show mercy. Later, the doctrine of original sin will be made explicit (see Rom 5:12f; Eph 2:3).
- Psalm 51:8 Despite his sins against God’s teaching, the psalmist craves that teaching with his whole being; he wants to be among the wise who follow God’s law, not the fools who reject it (see Ps 37:30f). Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
- Psalm 51:9 Hyssop: a plant with many branchlets that is a convenient sprinkler, prescribed for sprinkling sacrificial blood or water for cleansing (see Ex 12:22; Lev 14:4; Num 19:18). Whiter than snow: purity beyond compare (see Isa 1:18; Dan 7:9; Rev 7:14; 19:14).
- Psalm 51:12 Create: verb reserved only for God (see Gen 1) and describing the act by which he brings into existence something new and wonderful (see Ex 34:10; Isa 48:7; 65:17; Jer 31:22). The justification of a sinner is the divine work par excellence (see Ezek 36:25f). Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
