Mazmur 51:6-10

51:6 Look, ¹  you desire ²  integrity in the inner man; ³ 

you want me to possess wisdom. ⁴ 

51:7 Sprinkle me ⁵  with water ⁶  and I will be pure; ⁷ 

wash me ⁸  and I will be whiter than snow. ⁹ 

51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! ¹⁰ 

May the bones ¹¹  you crushed rejoice! ¹² 

51:9 Hide your face ¹³  from my sins!

Wipe away ¹⁴  all my guilt!

51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! ¹⁵ 

Renew a resolute spirit within me! ¹⁶ 

[51:6]  ¹ sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.

[51:6]  ² tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.

[51:6]  ³ tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.

[51:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).

[51:6]  sn You want me to possess wisdom. Here “wisdom” does not mean “intelligence” or “learning,” but refers to moral insight and skill.

[51:7]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “cleanse me with hyssop.” “Hyssop” was a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33) used to apply water (or blood) in purification rites (see Exod 12:22; Lev 14:4-6, 49-52; Num 19:6-18. The psalmist uses the language and imagery of such rites to describe spiritual cleansing through forgiveness.

[51:7]  ⁷ tn After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.

[51:7]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:7]  ⁹ sn I will be whiter than snow. Whiteness here symbolizes the moral purity resulting from forgiveness (see Isa 1:18).

[51:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.

[51:8]  ¹¹ sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.

[51:8]  ¹² tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:9]  ¹³ sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”

[51:9]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.

[51:10]  ¹⁵ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.

[51:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”