Psalms 51 and 52 refer to incidents in 2 Samuel and 1 Samuel, respectively, in which David does not exactly earn his crown. As with all the psalms of David, they were written long after he was dead -- they're actually fan fiction, or commentaries on Samuel. Just as a reminder, Psalm 51 refers to 2 Samuel 11-12 in which David rapes a woman named Bathsheba and gets her pregnant. To try to cover it up he summons her husband Uriah, a general, back from the front, but Uriah is loyal to his troops and won't come, so David has him murdered. He then marries Bathsheba. That is definitely not nice. God sent Nathan to let David know this behavior was not approved. The psalm, however, invokes a concept of original sin. It's not that David is especially psychopathic, it's that we're born in sin. Once again, this psalm says that God doesn't really desire sacrifice (verse 16), which is a total contradiction of the central essence of the Torah and Deuteronomistic history, and indeed of the very story of which this is a part, David's establishment of Zion. It's also hard to make sense of in the context in which it was actually composed, because the rebuilding of the Temple was essential to the return from exile and reestablishment of the Kingdom of Judah.
The incident in Psalm 52 has come up before, in which the scribe appears to misspell Ahimelech as Abimelech. King Saul was trying to have his rival David murdered, so David fled and sought refuge with the priest Ahimelech. Doeg, a servant of Saul's, was present. David knew that Doeg would tell Saul what had happened, which indeed Doeg did, whereupon Saul had Ahimelech and his friends killed. But David didn't try to do anything about it, he just split the scene. Again, not a nice person. However, the psalm puts all the blame on Doeg.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love;
according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done that which is evil in thy sight,
so that thou art justified in thy sentence
and blameless in thy judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Fill[a] me with joy and gladness;
let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence,
and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of thy salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors thy ways,
and sinners will return to thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness,[c] O God,
thou God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips,
and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
16 For thou hast no delight in sacrifice;
were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God[d] is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on thy altar.
Footnotes
- Psalm 51:8 Syr: Heb Make to hear
- Psalm 51:10 Or steadfast
- Psalm 51:14 Or death
- Psalm 51:17 Or My sacrifice, O God
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52 Why do you boast, O mighty man,
of mischief done against the godly?[a]
All the day 2 you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
3 You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth.Selah
4 You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.5 But God will break you down for ever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.Selah
6 The righteous shall see, and fear,
and shall laugh at him, saying,
7 “See the man who would not make
God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches,
and sought refuge in his wealth!”[b]8 But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
for ever and ever.
9 I will thank thee for ever,
because thou hast done it.
I will proclaim[c] thy name, for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.Footnotes
- Psalm 52:1 Cn Compare Syr: Heb the kindness of God
- Psalm 52:7 Syr Tg: Heb his destruction
- Psalm 52:9 Cn: Heb wait for
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