Mazmur 51:14-17

51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, ¹  O God, the God who delivers me!

Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. ² 

51:15 O Lord, give me the words! ³ 

Then my mouth will praise you. ⁴ 

51:16 Certainly ⁵  you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; ⁶ 

you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. ⁷ 

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit ⁸  –

O God, a humble and repentant heart ⁹  you will not reject. ¹⁰ 

[51:14]  ¹ tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.

[51:14]  ² tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).

[51:15]  ³ tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”

[51:16]  ⁵ tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.

[51:16]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)

[51:16]  ⁷ sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.

[51:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “a broken spirit.”

[51:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”

[51:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “despise.”