Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, I was born in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.
- BSB Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
- NKJV Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
- NASB ¶Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me.
- NLT For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
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 confesses that he was sinful from birth, conceived in iniquity. His problem is not just isolated acts but a sinful nature.
Overview
David traces his sin to its root, acknowledging that he was sinful from conception—a key text for the doctrine of original sin, that all are born with a fallen nature inherited from Adam. He is not blaming his mother but confessing the depth of human corruption. This explains why redemption must come from God, fulfilled in Christ, the sinless one born to save sinners.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rom 5:12Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
- Job 14:4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
- Ps 58:3The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
- Job 15:14–16What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
- Eph 2:3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
- John 3:6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
- Gen 5:3And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
- Gen 8:21And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
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 51:5 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.