Psalm 51

This article is about the penitential psalm. For the musical settings based on the psalm, see Miserere (disambiguation) § Music.
This article is about Psalm 51 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 51 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 52.
Psalm 51
"Have mercy upon me, O God"
Penitential Psalm
Latin text on a holy water font: see verse 9 below
Other name
  • Psalm 50
  • "Miserere mei, Deus"
LanguageHebrew (original)

Psalm 51, one of the penitential psalms,[1] is the 51st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Have mercy upon me, O God". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 50. In Latin, it is known as Miserere,[2] (Ancient Greek: ἐλέησόν με ὁ θεός, romanized: eléēsón me ho Theós) in Ancient Greek: Ἥ Ἐλεήμων, romanized: Hḗ Eleḗmōn), especially in musical settings. The introduction in the text says that it was composed by David as a confession to God after he sinned with Bathsheba.

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant liturgies.

  1. ^ Freedman, David Noel, ed. (2000). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Amsterdam University Press. p. 1093. ISBN 9789053565032.
  2. ^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 50 for (51) Archived 7 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine medievalist.net