Psalms 51; Psalms 52; Psalms 53

1 Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love! Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!

2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt; purify me from my sin!

3 Because I know my wrongdoings, my sin is always right in front of me.

4 I've sinned against you—you alone. I've committed evil in your sight. That's why you are justified when you render your verdict, completely correct when you issue your judgment.

5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin, from the moment my mother conceived me.

6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places; you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.

7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and celebration again; let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.

9 Hide your face from my sins; wipe away all my guilty deeds!

10 Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!

11 Please don't throw me out of your presence; please don't take your holy spirit away from me.

12 Return the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways, and sinners will come back to you.

14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation, so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.

15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

16 You don't want sacrifices. If I gave an entirely burned offering, you wouldn't be pleased.

17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God. You won't despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.

18 Do good things for Zion by your favor. Rebuild Jerusalem's walls.

19 Then you will again want sacrifices of righteousness— entirely burned offerings and complete offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

1 Hey, powerful person! Why do you brag about evil? God's faithful love lasts all day long.

2 Your tongue devises destruction: it's like a sharpened razor, causing deception.

3 You love evil more than good; you love lying more than speaking what is right. Selah

4 You love all destructive words; you love the deceiving tongue.

5 But God will take you down permanently; he will snatch you up, tear you out of your tent, and uproot you from the land of the living! Selah

6 The righteous will see and be in awe; they will laugh at those people:

7 "Look at them! They didn't make God their refuge. Instead, they trusted in their own great wealth. They sought refuge in it—to their own destruction!"

8 But I am like a green olive tree in God's house; I trust in God's faithful love forever and always.

9 I will give thanks to you, God, forever, because you have acted. In the presence of your faithful people, I will hope in your name because it's so good.

1 Fools say in their hearts, There's no God. They are corrupt and do horrible deeds; not one of them does anything good.

2 God looks down from heaven on humans to see if anyone is wise, to see if anyone seeks God.

3 But all have turned away. Everyone is corrupt. No one does good— not even one person!

4 Are they dumb—these evildoers— devouring my people like they are eating bread but never calling on God?

5 There, where there was nothing to fear, they will be in utter panic because God will scatter the bones of those who attacked you. You will put them to shame because God has rejected them.

6 Let Israel's salvation come out of Zion! When God changes his people's circumstances for the better, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will celebrate!