Psalm 51:4
ESV
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
NIV
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
NASB
Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.
CSB
Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.
NLT
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
KJV
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
NKJV
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.
What does Psalm 51:4 mean?
Although David had sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, he saw his sin as primarily against God. He refers to his sin as evil in God's sight. Sin is never unseen by the eyes of a holy God. As Hebrews 4:13 points out, everything is "exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." God had clearly commanded Israel: "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:13–14). David had disobeyed God by violating both commandments.David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had arranged for Uriah to be killed on the battlefield. Therefore, he had sinned primarily against God. Genesis 9:6 says, "whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." Murder, then, violates God's image. David acknowledged that God is just and always renders a correct verdict in matters involving evil (Psalm 51:4). He recognized that his fate rested in God's hands, and God would do the right thing.
Psalm 51:1–7 is David's plea for mercy and cleansing. He admits he has sinned against God. His approach to confession is to take God's attitude toward sin. He sees his sins as transgressions, iniquity, evil, and the result of his lifelong offensive nature. First John 1:9–10 corresponds to this passage by teaching believers to confess their sins—to agree with God's stance about those sins—with the promise of God's forgiveness and cleansing.
This psalm opens with David's plea to God to show him mercy. He asks God to blot out his transgressions, wash his iniquities, and cleanse him from sin. He admits his sinning was against God. He also confesses his human sin nature. David asks God to make him as white as snow by purging him with hyssop. He longs for joy to return to him, but knows he was suffering because God had turned away from him. He pleads with God for a clean heart and a right spirit. He does not want God to cast him aside and remove His Holy Spirit. David longs for a renewal of the joy of his salvation. If cleansing from sin occurred and joy returned to him, David would teach transgressors God's ways, and sinners would be converted. He promises near the end of the psalm to declare God's praise if God would forgive him. He knew it would be futile to offer a sacrifice to God, because God delights in a broken and contrite heart and not in sacrifices offered with an unrepentant heart. David closes the psalm with a prayer for God to bless Jerusalem.
