I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB I said, “Yahweh, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
- BSB I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against You.”
- NKJV I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
- NASB ¶As for me, I said, “Lord, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
- NLT “O Lord,” I prayed, “have mercy on me. Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
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 prays for mercy and healing, confessing he has sinned against God. He links his need for healing to repentance.
Overview
Turning to his own case, David asks for grace, acknowledging his sin. He seeks healing not as an entitlement but as a penitent. This union of confession and plea for mercy is the gospel posture answered fully in Christ's pardon.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 103:3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
- Jas 5:15–16And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
- Hos 6:1Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
- 2 Chr 30:18–20For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one
- Ps 147:3He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
- Ps 6:2–4Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
- Ps 32:5I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
- Ps 51:1–4Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 41:4 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.