Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Remember me according to your loving kindness, for your goodness’ sake, Yahweh.
- KJV Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.
- ESV Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
- NKJV Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
- NASB Do not remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoings; Remember me according to Your faithfulness, For Your goodness’ sake, Lord.
- NLT Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David asks God not to remember his youthful sins but to remember him in love. He pleads for forgiveness grounded in God's goodness, not his own record.
Overview
Aware of past transgressions, David prays that God would blot out the memory of his sins and instead deal with him according to steadfast love. He appeals to God's goodness rather than his own worthiness. This longing for sins to be remembered no more is answered in the new covenant, where through Christ God forgives iniquity and remembers sin no more.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Isa 43:25I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Isa 38:17Surely for my own welfare I had such great anguish; but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
- Heb 10:16–18“This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”
- Heb 8:12For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
- Job 13:26For You record bitter accusations against me and bequeath to me the iniquities of my youth.
- Jer 3:25Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
- Ps 51:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
- Ps 79:8Do not hold past sins against us; let Your compassion come quickly, for we are brought low.
- Eph 2:4–8But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Eph 1:6–7to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- Ps 119:124Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion, and teach me Your statutes.
- Prov 5:7–14So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.
- Ps 6:4Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion.
- Ps 109:26Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to Your loving devotion.
- Ps 31:16Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me by Your loving devotion.
- Isa 64:9Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people!
- Job 20:11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.
- John 5:14Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”
- John 5:5One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
- Ps 109:16For he never thought to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted, even to their death.
- Ps 109:14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 25:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.