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Psalm 51:2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.
4Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.
Notice
“Wash me” puts the need for cleansing into a prayer, where David owns his sin and asks God to act upon it.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you notice about David asking God to wash him from something he calls “my sin”?
Write on thisWhat would you want to name before God when praying, “Cleanse me from my sin”?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
1 John 1:7–9But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.David asks to be cleansed from sin; John says the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.
Zechariah 13:1“In that day there will be a fountain opened to David’s house and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.David’s plea for cleansing and the fountain opened to David’s house both concern sin and its removal.
Hebrews 10:21–22and having a great priest over God’s house,The supplied Hebrews line names a priest over God’s house; its connection to David’s request for cleansing remains indirect.
Ezekiel 36:25I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.David asks God to cleanse him; Ezekiel records God’s promise to cleanse his people, using the image of clean water.
Psalm 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.Both prayers ask God to wash the speaker, with the later verse describing cleanness through hyssop and snow.
Jeremiah 4:14Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?Both texts use washing to address wrongdoing; Jeremiah directs the image toward Jerusalem’s heart and evil thoughts.
Isaiah 1:16Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.Both texts connect washing with sin; David asks God for cleansing, while Isaiah commands his hearers to cease doing evil.
Revelation 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our …David prays to be washed from sin; Revelation praises Jesus Christ, who loves his people and washed them from sins.
Acts 22:16Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’Both passages link washing away sin with an appeal to the Lord; Acts also names baptism.
1 Corinthians 6:11Some of you were such, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.David asks to be washed; Paul describes believers as washed in the name of Jesus and in God’s Spirit.
Revelation 7:14I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering. They washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s …Both texts use washing as an image of cleansing; Revelation describes robes made white in the Lamb’s blood.
John 13:5Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.Washing is the shared action: David seeks cleansing from sin, while Jesus uses water and a towel to wash feet.
Where this verse fits
Guilt and confession.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The plea for cleansing follows an appeal to God’s loving kindness. Your confession can be plain before him; David brings his sin to the God of mercy.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).