"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies blot out my transgressions! Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight, that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities! Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me! Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness! O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise! For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise! Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar." Ps 50 (Ohienko) / Ps 51 (Khomenko, Turkoniak)
Psalm 50, "Have mercy on me, O God," is the best-known psalm of repentance in the entire Bible. It was written by King David after the gravest fall of his life—adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. This psalm is not just a prayer; it is a model of true repentance, in which there are no excuses, there is honesty, and in which God hears. Here is the full text, the story, an explanation of the main lines, and why this prayer still heals the hearts of millions 3,000 years later.
A note about numbering. In Ohienko’s translation it is Psalm 50. In modern Western translations (including Khomenko, Turkoniak, BibleGateway) it is Psalm 51. The text is the same.
The story behind the psalm
Psalm 50 has a very specific context. The title of the psalm itself says:
"To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba."
What happened? From the roof of the palace, King David saw Bathsheba bathing, the wife of his soldier Uriah. He sent for her, slept with her, and she became pregnant. To cover it up, David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle (2 Sam 11). Then he took Bathsheba as his wife.
For more than a year David lived as if nothing had happened. Until the moment when the prophet Nathan came to him and told a parable about a rich man who took a poor man’s only ewe lamb. David was outraged, and Nathan said to him: "You are the man!" (2 Sam 12:7).
Psalm 50 is David’s prayer after that moment. No excuses. No "she is also guilty." No "it was because of the stress of ruling." Honest, painful, whole.
Why this psalm is a model of repentance
If we compare it with how people usually repent, there is much to learn from David:
1. Acknowledgment of sin before God
"Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight." (verse 6)
David sinned against Bathsheba, against Uriah, against the whole nation. But main offense — above all, against God, because He is the Source of morality. This does not diminish the sin against people (it is real too), but places it in the right perspective.
2. Honesty about himself
"For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me." (verse 5)
David does not try to hide. He says: "I know". The first step of repentance is to stop denying.
3. A request for a new heart, not a new chance
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (verse 12)
David does not say, "Give me one more chance, I will try harder." He says: "create me anew". Because he knows his old nature cannot do it. This is the most important difference between "apology" and "repentance."
4. Realizing that God does not accept "sacrifices" instead of the heart
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise!" (verse 19)
David knows that to "bring a sacrifice" (then—a literal animal sacrifice, today—money, good deeds) will not fix the situation. God wants a broken heart, not outward humility.
Explanation of key verses
"Have mercy on me, O God" (verse 3)
The first words are not, "forgive me because I will try to be better," but "have mercy". David appeals to mercy, not to justice. If God judged justly, David would be dead (according to the law, adultery and murder were punishable by death).
"Wash me thoroughly" (verse 4)
David asks not to "wash off the stains," but completely to cleanse. This is not cosmetics. This is complete restoration.
"Cleanse me with hyssop" (verse 9)
Hyssop is a plant used in Old Testament purification rituals (Lev. 14:6). David evokes the image of deep sacrificial cleansing—pointing forward to the future sacrifice of Christ.
"Whiter than snow" (verse 9)
An image later repeated by the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 1:18): "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." God promises not only forgiveness, but also new purity.
"Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (verse 13)
This is the most painful line. David fears not punishment, but the breaking of his relationship with God. This is the sign of true repentance—at its core is not "I do not want to suffer," but "I do not want to lose God."
Did God accept David’s repentance?
Yes. Through the prophet Nathan, God answered:
"The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die!" 2 Sam. 12:13
But the consequences remained. The child from that relationship died. Family tragedies began in David’s house—Absalom’s rebellion, murders among brothers. God forgave, but life did not return to what it had been before.
This is an important lesson: God’s forgiveness is complete. But the earthly consequences of our sin may remain. God alone wipes it away; the earthly field remains marked.
How to pray Psalm 50 today
A few principles:
- Do not "recite" it like a performance. The psalm is powerful when you speak it out of your own pain, not "because it is expected."
- Instead of "my iniquities," name specifically what you have done. Instead of "wash me from my sin"—"Lord, wash me from the lies in my relationships."
- Pray slowly, paragraph by paragraph. Ten minutes with 5 verses is better than 5 minutes with the whole text.
- Do not be afraid of the words about the "Holy Spirit." This is not a threat—it is David’s honesty. The Holy Spirit will not leave you if you come to God in repentance.
- End with trust. The psalm itself ends with hope that God will not despise a "broken heart." Hold on to that.
Common questions
"What if my sin is not as serious as David’s?"
It does not matter. Psalm 50 is for any sin, because it is not about severity, but about honesty. A "small" sin a person does not repent of is more serious than a "great" sin they do repent of.
"What if I keep repeating the same sin?"
David was not perfect even after this fall. But coming to God in repentance—every time. Do not come back "because I have already fallen." Come back because only returning brings healing.
"What if I do not feel a 'broken heart'?"
Sometimes the heart does not "break." It stays silent. You can pray: "Lord, I do not feel what I should. Break my heart Yourself, so that I may understand how serious what happened really is." This is a more honest prayer than pretending to be "broken."
Questions about the psalm
If you want to understand a specific verse of Psalm 50 more deeply, or how to apply it to your situation, ask our AI assistant below. It will provide parallel Bible passages and help you formulate a prayer.
