Behold, i was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me psalm 51. The literal sense of the hebrew translated iniquity verses 2, 9 is to be bent out of shape. Best commentaries and books on psalms logos bible software. About the book in 2004, mayer grubers landmark rashis commentary on psalms made one of the 11thcentury scholars most important works accessible to a larger audience for the first time. Behold, i was shapen in iniquity hebrew, cholaleti, i was born, or brought forth. The psalmist, with a deeply penitent heart, prays for remission of sins, psalm 51. Under the law of moses, the penalty was death, but mercy won out and forgiveness was found.
There are a number of great commentaries on the book of psalms. The fruit of a masterful analysis of the original texts, this fresh translation, with its comprehensive notes and groundbreaking commentary, establishes dahoods psalms ii 51 100 as the premier commentary on the psalms. David guzik commentary on psalm 51 explains the song by david who describes the. God has caused david to once again be sensitive to. Mention must also be made of isaac arama 143094, whose aqedhah, his commentary on the pentateuch homiletical in style, was the standard book for the jewish pulpit for centuries, much esteemed by the christian world, and is still much read by the jews, especially in russia and poland.
Tehillim psalms chapter 1 tanakh online torah bible. Psalm 51 geneva bible notes 1560 commentaries good. Sep 03, 2014 behold, i was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me psalm 51. The sinfulness and misery of a wicked man, the ground and reason of both. Psalm 51 commentary create in me a clean heart faithful. King david was gods servant and a man after gods own heart, but then he did the unimaginable and committed adultery and murder.
The particulars of the sin are not enumerated god knows the details. A psalm of david when nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to bathsheba. For thousands of years, sefer tehillim, king davids book of psalms, has expressed the emotional and spiritual yearnings that accompany us throughout life on a deeply personal, and transcendent level. Psalm 51 is the 51st psalm of the book of psalms, in english known by its first verse in the king. Words marked with a star are described in the word list at the end.
The book of psalms in modern protestant bibles includes 150 poetic compositions meant to be sung or spoken by gods people. Psalms 51 1 have mercy on me, o god, according to your unfailing love. Psalm 51 is the 51st psalm of the book of psalms, in english known by its first verse in the king james version, have mercy upon me, o god. The translated bible text has yet to go through advanced checking. Mention must also be made of isaac arama 143094, whose aqedhah, his commentary on the pentateuch homiletical in style, was the standard book for the jewish pulpit for centuries, much esteemed by the christian world, and is still much read. These three are the most common words used in the hebrew bible to describe. Cheyne, who wrote a helpful commentary on the prophecies of isa 188081, and subsequently commentaries on micah and hosea cambridge bible, jeremiah pulpit commentary, and on the book of psalms 1884, has become more. The jews wanted a psalm that told god that they had sinned.
Free online bible library jewish commentary on the bible. The book is actually a collection of 150 individual songs composed over a period of approximately years, from the time of moses psalm 90 to the postexilic period psalm 126. Thirty psalms are designated as song, probably indicating that the psalm was actually sung in the temple. Rashi is considered the fundamental jewish commentary on the bible. Psalm 51 king james version kjv 51 have mercy upon me, o god, according to thy lovingkindness. Several verses from psalm 51 are regular parts of jewish liturgy. Show me favour, o elohim, according to your lovingcommitment. A psalm of david, when natan the prophet came to him after his affair with batsheva. For centuries, jews and others have turned to the biblical book of psalms for solace, guidance, catharsis, renewal, and much more. The blood of christ is called the blood of sprinkling, hebrews 12. Reason a is based on the commentary of rabbi shlomo yitzchaki better known as rashi, 10401150 ce.
You can find the best commentary on psalms for you using the tools on the right side. For scholarly observations and insights, one fine entry point is the psalms section of the jewish study bible, whose editors, adele berlin and marc zvi brettler, set each psalm. In the greek septuagint version of the bible, and the latin vulgate, this psalm is psalm 50 in a slightly different numbering system. Previous index next the book of psalms psalm 51 the penitents prayer objectives in studying this psalm 1 to learn the art of confessing our sins from the example of david confessing his sins 2 to consider whether one can rightly argue for total hereditary depravity based upon the figurative language in verse 5 summary this psalm was written by david when nathan had come to. It was a congeries of sins against god and society. The jps paperback edition of this exceptional volume includes the complete original hebrew text and acclaimed linguist mayer grubers contemporary. The psalmist seeks cleansing from my transgressions, my iniquity, and my sin. The book of psalms psalm 51 the penitents prayer objectives in studying this psalm 1 to learn the art of confessing our sins from the example of david confessing his sins 2 to consider whether one can rightly argue for total hereditary depravity based upon the figurative language in verse 5 summary this psalm was written by david.
And like all sacred texts, the verses of tehillim are profound, complex, challenging, even mysterious, and call for commentary. Sep 15, 20 psalm 51 is heartfelt cry to god from one who has committed an unspeakable sin in the eyes of god. God, be merciful to mebecause of your faithful love. In an attempt to prove the divinity of the messiah, christians misquote psalm 110. Tehillim psalms chapter 51 tanakh online torah bible.
Psalm 51 restoration of a broken and contrite king. Meditations and disquisitions upon the 51 psalm of david, in meditations and disquisitions upon the seven psalms of david, commonly called the penitential psalmes. The entire text is available in hebrew and english free of charge on sefaria. An easyenglish translation with notes about 1200 word vocabulary on psalm 51. Threatenings against the enemies of christs kingdom. Jewish bible with a modern english translation and rashis commentary. Through the use of ugaritic and cognate literature, dahood corrects mistranslations and illuminates previously obscure phrases. In 2004, mayer grubers landmark rashis commentary on psalms made one of the 11thcentury scholars most important works accessible to a larger audience for the first time.
Psalms 51 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. Although i understand the initial tendency to understand rashi as subscribing to the christian theology of original sin, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. When dauid was rebuked by the prophet nathan, for his great offences, he did not onely acknowledge the same to god with protestation of his natural corruption and iniquitie,but also left a memorial thereof to his posteritie. Against thee, thee only, have i sinned all sin, though committed against a fellow creature, being a transgression of the law, is against the lawgiver. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of.
From statements like davids, we realize that when god prophesies regarding jesus. Psalms 51 commentary charles spurgeons treasury of david. For i know my crimes, my sin confronts me all the time. Wash me completely from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. The spirit of the lord g od is upon me, because the l ord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. The old testament supplies the background to jesus use of poor. Psalms 51 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this. The psalms are directed at yahweh as listener and are intended to express the full range of human emotion for various individual and group settings, such as praise, thanksgiving, petition, and lament. The events are plainly and painfully described in 2 samuel chapters 11 and 12. The book of psalms is one of the most beloved portions of holy scripture. Reason b is based on the commentary of rabbi meir leibush, the malbim, 18091879. Both reasons a and b are based in traditional jewish thought. Psalm 51 create in me a clean heart, o god summary the psalm recognizes that all sin is ultimately against god, and prays for forgiveness and renewal.
One of my colleagues once remarked that david sinned big and repented big, and the biblical text remembers him as a man after gods own heart 1 samuel. The hebrew text used is biblia hebraica stuttgartensia bhs from the german bible society, 1997, which is based on the leningrad codex a. The jps paperback edition of this exceptional volume includes the complete original hebrew text and acclaimed linguist mayer grubers contemporary english translation and. I havent looked at the updated version yet, but i imagine it strengthened the weaknesses in craigies volume in ways that the series later volumes tended to improve upon. Psalm 51 is heartfelt cry to god from one who has committed an unspeakable sin in the eyes of god. The book of psalms sefer tehillim my jewish learning. Psalms as the ultimate selfhelp tool my jewish learning. For example, in evangelical lutheran worship, four hymn settings of verses 1012 are available as options for each of ten worship settings see elw pages 106. Rashis commentary on psalms jewish publication society. But every once in a while or hopefully sooner than that god breaks in on our lives and helps us recognize the gravity of our sin. Its recently been updated by marvin tate, who did the second volume on 51100, but you can still get the original by craigie.
Though david penned this psalm upon a very particular occasion, yet, it is of as general use as any of davids psalms. The book of psalms are a compilation of 150 individual psalms written by king david studied by both jewish and western scholars by king david and s b laitman mar 12, 2017 4. The occasion of psalm 51 is when nathan confronted david about his sin. According to the greatness of your compassion, blot out my transgressions. Lastly, the second interpretive key from church tradition is the fact that this prayer, create in me a clean heart from psalm 51, has long been a part of the churchs weekly worship. The 150 psalms that constitute this important component of the writings ketuvim section of the jewish bible reflect a wide range of experience and expression. Psalms 51 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Six psalms are superscribed another puzzlethree times with the addition, once lx. The title connects this psalm to davids sin with bathsheba 2 samuel 12. Tehillim psalms 51, the scriptures 2009 ts2009 the. Occasionally, the ancient versions greek septuagint, aramaic targums, syriac peshitta, and latin vulgate are consulted if the hebrew is ambiguous or obviously confused.
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