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Psalm 51:3
For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.
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.
5Behold, I was born in iniquity. My mother conceived me in sin.
Notice
Sin stays before David’s eyes, and his plain admission captures the weight of knowing what you have done without being able to set it aside.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What is the difference between knowing your transgressions and naming them before God?
Write on thisWhen a known sin stays before you, how does it shape your prayer for mercy?
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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
Proverbs 28:13He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.Both passages address acknowledging sin; Proverbs adds renouncing it and finding mercy.
Isaiah 59:12For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:Both describe transgressions as known and present, with Isaiah speaking for a people whose sins testify against them.
Psalm 38:18For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin.Both speakers own their sin; Psalm 38 also states sorrow and the resolve to declare it.
Psalm 32:5I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.Both psalms acknowledge personal sin before God; Psalm 32 also recounts confession and God’s forgiveness.
Leviticus 26:40–41“‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me; and also that because they walked …Both concern owning transgression before God, though Leviticus addresses confession of a people’s sins and those of their fathers.
Luke 15:18–21I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.Both speakers acknowledge their own sin; Luke’s speaker plans to return to his father and confess.
Jeremiah 3:25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. …Both texts acknowledge sin without excuse; Jeremiah’s confession includes the people’s long disobedience and their fathers’ sins.
Job 33:27He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me.Both speakers recognize personal wrongdoing; the speaker in Job also declares before others that sin brought no profit.
Psalm 40:12For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart …Both describe sin as an oppressive presence, with Psalm 40 portraying iniquities that overwhelm the speaker.
Leviticus 16:21Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, …Both concern acknowledged sins and transgressions; Leviticus describes Aaron confessing the people’s sins over the live goat.
Nehemiah 9:2The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.Both involve owning sin, with Nehemiah describing a gathered people confessing their sins and their fathers’ iniquities.
Leviticus 13:45“The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! …The limited shared thread is an acknowledgment of one’s condition; Leviticus concerns disease and ritual uncleanness, while David names personal sin.
Where this verse fits
Guilt and confession.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
David speaks this admission within a plea for mercy. You need no excuse to bring a known sin before God; his plea rests on God’s loving kindness.
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).