Hebrew
לַמְנַצֵּחַ מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד: בְּבוֹא
אֵלָיו נָתָן הַנָּבִיא, כַּאֲשֶׁר
בָּא אֶל בַּת שָׁבַע: חָנֵּנִי אֱלֹהִים
כְּחַסְדֶּךָ, כְּרוֹב רַחֲמֶיךָ מְחֵה פְשָׁעָי:
הֶרֶב כַּבְּסֵנִי מֵעֲוֹנִי, וּמֵחַטָּאתִי
טַהֲרֵנִי: כִּי פְשָׁעַי אֲנִי אֵדָע,
וְחַטָּאתִי נֶגְדִּי<sup>1</sup> תָמִיד: לְךָ לְבַדְּךָ
חָטָאתִי, וְהָרַע בְּעֵינֶיךָ עָשִׂיתִי,
לְמַעַן תִּצְדַּק בְּדָבְרֶךָ תִּזְכֶּה
בְשָׁפְטֶךָ: הֵן בְּעָוֹן חוֹלָלְתִּי,
וּבְחֵטְא יֶחֱמַתְנִי אִמִּי: הֵן אֱמֶת
חָפַצְתָּ בַטֻּחוֹת, וּבְסָתֻם חָכְמָה
תוֹדִיעֵנִי: תְּחַטְּאֵנִי בְאֵזוֹב וְאֶטְהָר,
תְּכַבְּסֵנִי וּמִשֶּׁלֶג אַלְבִּין: תַּשְׁמִיעֵנִי
שָׂשׂוֹן וְשִׂמְחָה, תָּגֵלְנָה עֲצָמוֹת
דִּכִּיתָ: הַסְתֵּר פָּנֶיךָ מֵחֲטָאָי, וְכָל
עֲוֹנֹתַי מְחֵה: לֵב טָהוֹר בְּרָא לִי
אֱלֹהִים, וְרוּחַ נָכוֹן חַדֵּשׁ בְּקִרְבִּי:
אַל תַּשְׁלִיכֵנִי מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, וְרוּחַ
קָדְשְׁךָ אַל תִּקַּח מִמֶּנִּי: הָשִׁיבָה
לִי שְׂשׂוֹן יִשְׁעֶךָ, וְרוּחַ נְדִיבָה
תִסְמְכֵנִי: אֲלַמְּדָה פֹשְׁעִים
דְּרָכֶיךָ, וְחַטָּאִים אֵלֶיךָ יָשׁוּבוּ:
הַצִּילֵנִי מִדָּמִים ׀ אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵי
תְּשׁוּעָתִי, תְּרַנֵּן לְשׁוֹנִי צִדְקָתֶךָ:
אֲדֹנָי, שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח, וּפִי יַגִּיד
תְּהִלָּתֶךָ: כִּי לֹא תַחְפֹּץ זֶבַח
וְאֶתֵּנָה, עוֹלָה לֹא תִרְצֶה: זִבְחֵי
אֱלֹהִים רוּחַ נִשְׁבָּרָה, לֵב נִשְׁבָּר
וְנִדְכֶּה, אֱלֹהִים לֹא תִבְזֶה:
הֵיטִיבָה בִרְצוֹנְךָ אֶת צִיּוֹן,
תִּבְנֶה חוֹמוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָיִם: אָז
תַּחְפֹּץ זִבְחֵי צֶדֶק עוֹלָה וְכָלִיל,
אָז יַעֲלוּ עַל מִזְבַּחֲךָ פָרִים:
Sephardi
Lamnatzei'ach mizmor ledavid: bevo
elav Natan ha-navi, ka'asher
ba el Bat Sheva: chaneni Elohim
ke-hasdekha, ke-rov rachamecha mehe fesha'ai:
herev kabbeni me-avoni, u-me-hattati
tahareni: ki fesha'ai ani eda,
ve-hattati negdi<sup>1</sup> tamid: lecha levadecha
chatati, ve-hara b'einecha asiti,
lema'an titzdak bi-dvarekha tizkeh
ve-shoftekha: hen be-avon holalti,
u-v-het yehematni imi: hen emet
hafatzta va-tuhot, u-ve-satum chochmah
todi'eni: tehatteni ve-ezov ve-ethar,
tekhabbeseni u-mi-sheleg albin: tashmi'eni
sason ve-simhah, tagelnah atzamot
dikkita: haster panekha me-hata'ai, vechol
avonotai mehe: lev tahor bera li
Elohim, v'ruach nachon chadesh bekirbi:
al tashlikheni milfanekha, v'ruach
kodshecha al tikkah mimeni: hashivah
li seson yish'echa, v'ruach nedivah
tismekheni: alammedah fosh'im
derachecha, ve-hatta'im eilecha yashuvu:
hatzileni mi-damim | Elohim Elohei
teshu'ati, terannen leshoni tzidkatekha:
Adonai, sefatai tiftach, ufi yagid
tehilatecha: ki lo tahpotz zevach
ve-etenah, olah lo tirtzeh: zivchei
Elohim ruach nishbarah, lev nishbar
ve-nidkeh, Elohim lo tivzeh:
hetivah vi-retzonekha et Tziyon,
tivneh homot Yerushalayim: az
tahpotz zivchei tzedek olah ve-khalil,
az ya'alu al mizbahakha farim:
English
לַמְנַצֵּחַ The following is a song that was composed by King David for the choirmaster of the Levites, to be sung in the Holy Temple. He composed it when Nattan the Prophet came to rebuke him after he went to Bathsheba: God, be gracious to me in keeping with Your kindness; erase my sins according to Your great mercy. Clean me thoroughly of my wrongdoing and purify me of my sin. For I am aware of my sins, and my wrongdoing is always in the front of my mind.<sup>1</sup> God, I have sinned against You alone and not against anybody else, and therefore only You are able to forgive me; I have done that which is bad in Your eyes. Forgive me so that You will be justified in Your decision to punish the wicked who don’t repent and fair in Your judgment against them, since now they will know that if they had repented, You would have forgiven them as well. Indeed, I was not born to be completely free of sin—I am only human. I was born with sin; my mother created me with sin. Indeed, the truth You want can be found in my innermost feelings, for even though I sinned, it was only because my evil inclination overpowered me, but deep inside I always remained true to You. Teach me the wisdom of the hidden secrets, so that I can continue to keep Your commandments and serve You properly. Just as a Biblical leper becomes pure with the sprinkling of the hyssop plant, so too, remove my sins with the hyssop plant and I will be pure; cleanse me of my sins, and I will be purer and whiter than snow. Let me hear that You have forgiven me and my soul will feel joy and happiness; then the bones of my body—which You have crushed and saddened when You informed me of my punishment—will rejoice. Hide Your face from those who try to convince You to punish me for my sins and erase all my wrongdoings. God, create in me a pure heart so that my evil inclination should not rule over me and cause me to sin, and renew within me an upright spirit to do the proper things. Do not throw me away from Your presence, and do not take away Your Spirit of Holiness from me because of my sin. Give me back the joy that comes from Your salvation, just as I had before my sin, and support me with a spirit of generosity. If You forgive me, I will be able to teach sinners Your ways; I will be able to show them that if they repent You will forgive them, and then sinners will repent and return to You. God, God of my salvation, rescue me from having my blood spilled; then my tongue will sing about Your righteousness. Lord, forgive me so that I will be able to open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise to everyone and convince them to repent. For You do not want me to offer a sacrifice as an atonement for my sin—if You did, I would certainly offer one. You do not want me to bring You a burnt-offering. Rather, the kind of sacrifices God wants is a broken spirit; God doesn’t ever despise a broken and humbled heart. Look also at the broken hearts of the Jewish Nation in exile, and, in Your goodwill, give goodness to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and its Temple. Then You will want our sacrifices, because they will be offered in righteousness and not for sins—such as the burnt-offering, peace-offering, and the High Priest’s daily flour-offering, which was completely consumed by fire. Then they will offer large bulls, as well as other smaller animals as offerings on Your altar.