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Psalm 51:4

Against 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.

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.
6Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
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Notice

“Against you, and you only” can make confession feel stark: the speaker admits evil in God's sight and accepts the justice of his judgment.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What changes in your confession when you name your sin as an offense against God?

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Where do you find yourself defending what you also recognize as evil in God's sight?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

11 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
Romans 3:4May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “that you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you …Paul quotes the psalm's words about God being justified in what he says, affirming God's truth despite human falsehood.
2 Samuel 12:13–14David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin. You will not die.David's confession to Nathan shares the psalm's direct admission that his sin is against God.
Luke 15:21The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’The son's confession and the psalm both acknowledge sin against heaven or God, naming wrongdoing without offering a defense.
Genesis 20:6God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore I …God's words to Abimelech and the psalm both describe sin as an offense against God himself.
Genesis 39:9No one is greater in this house than I am, and he has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great …Joseph names the wickedness he refuses as sin against God, the same relationship the psalm acknowledges in confession.
Revelation 16:5I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are righteous, who are and who were, O Holy One, because you have judged these things.The angel declares God righteous in his judgments, sharing the psalm's acknowledgment that God is justified when he judges.
Acts 17:31because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, …Both passages affirm righteous judgment: the psalm accepts God's verdict, and Acts announces his appointed judgment of the world.
Jeremiah 12:1You are righteous, LORD, when I contend with you; yet I would like to plead a case with you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are they all at ease …Jeremiah and the psalm both acknowledge God's righteousness, though Jeremiah raises a complaint while the psalm confesses sin.
Genesis 9:6Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.Both concern judgment for wrongdoing; Genesis addresses bloodshed and God's image, while the psalm acknowledges sin before God.
Psalm 50:6The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah.Both psalms affirm God's righteousness as judge, one through confession and the other through the heavens' declaration.
Leviticus 6:2–7“If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against the LORD, and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has …Leviticus names wrongdoing against a neighbor as trespass against the LORD, sharing the psalm's recognition that sin offends God.
Where this verse fits

Guilt and confession.

What the Bible says about guilt →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Name one known sin to God without excuses

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Encouragement

Acknowledging sin against God does not erase harm done to people. Confession faces the wrong without disputing his verdict: God is right when he speaks and judges.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 51:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 51 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

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).