Psalm 51:10-14
NL407

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10 CreateA in me a cleanB heart,C O God,D

Notes on verse 10a

A “create” = bara. This is to create, shape, choose, or select. It is the word used in Genesis 1:1 when God created the heavens and the earth.
B “clean” = tahor. From taher (bright, which implies being pure or clean; to purge, cleanse, or purify; clean in a ritual sense or a moral one (i.e. moral or holy)). This is clean or pure in a literal, ritual, or ethical sense.
C “heart” = leb. From the same as lebab (the heart, courage, one’s inner self, the mind, the will; only used in a figurative sense in the Bible); may be related to labab (to encourage; properly, to be encased as with fat; used in a good sense, this means to transport someone with love; used in a bad sense, it can mean to dull one’s senses). This is inner self, mind, will, feelings, the center.
D “God” = Elohim.

    and put a newE and rightF spiritG withinH me.

Notes on verse 10b

E “put a new” = chadash. 10x in OT. This is to renew or restore, to repair or rebuild.
F “right” = kun. Properly, this means in a perpendicular position. So, it is set up in a literal sense – establish, fix, fasten, prepare. In a figurative sense, it is certainty, to be firm, faithfulness, render sure or prosperous.
G “spirit” = ruach. From ruach (smell, breathe, perceive, anticipate, accept, enjoy). This is breath, wind, air, cool, spirit. This is wind, which resembles the breath and so this can be used figuratively for life itself or being frail/mortal/impermanent. It can refer to the air of the sky or the spirit.
H “within” = qereb. Perhaps from qarab (to come near or approach). This is among, in the midst, before, the center It is the inward part, whether literal or figurative. It can also be used for the heart, the site of thoughts and feelings. This word is also used as a technical term for the entrails of the animals who are sacrificed.

11 Do not cast me awayI from your presence,J
    and do not takeK your holyL spirit from me.

Notes on verse 11

I “cast…away” = shalak. This is to throw, fling, or hurl. It can also be to throw away in a literal or figurative sense.
J “presence” = paneh. From panah (to turn, face, appear). This is face in a literal or figurative sense. It could be face, presence, anger, respect. It can also be used of God to indicate divine favor or presence.
K “take” = laqach. This is to take, accept, carry away, receive. It can also have the sense of take a wife or take in marriage.
L “holy” = qodesh. This is set apart and so sacred. God is different from us and so God is holy/set apart. Things we dedicate to God’s service are set apart for God and so they, too, are holy, etc.

12 RestoreM to me the joyN of your salvation,O
    and sustainP in me a willingQ spirit.

Notes on verse 12

M “restore” = shub. To turn back, return, turn away – literally or figuratively. Doesn’t necessarily imply going back to where you started from. This is also the root verb for the Hebrew word for repentance “teshubah.”
N “joy” = sason. From sus (to rejoice, be glad; properly, to be bright or cheerful). This is rejoicing, cheerfulness, and welcome.
O “salvation” = yesha. From yasha (to deliver, defend, help, preserve, rescue, be safe. Properly, to be open, wide or free, which implies being safe. Used causatively, it means to free). This is salvation, deliverance, rescue, safety, welfare, liberty.
P “sustain” = samak. This is to lean, rest, support, brace, uphold, sustain, or establish. It is to lean on in a positive or negative sense.
Q “willing” = nadib. From nadab (to offer willingly, volunteer, freely give, be willing). Properly, this is voluntary and so it implies generous, noble, magnanimous, or a generous person.

13 Then I will teachR transgressorsS your ways,T
    and sinnersU will returnV to you.

Notes on verse 13

R “teach” = lamad. Properly, this refers to goading (using a pointed stick to guide or prod one’s flock). By implication, it means teaching or instructing.
S “transgressors” = pasha. This is to rebel, offend, quarrel. It is making a break from proper authority so can also refer to an apostate.
T “ways” = derek. From darak (to tread, march, to walk. Can also mean affixing a string to a box since one needs to step on it to bend it in the process; so also an archer). This is a road as a thing that is walked on. Can be used figuratively for the path that one’s life takes or how one chooses to live one’s life.
U “sinners” = chatta. 19x in OT. From chata (to miss, sin, carry blame, lack). This is sinful or sinner. It is a criminal or someone who is seen as guilty.
V “return” = shub. Same as “restore” in v12. See note M above.

14 DeliverW me from bloodshed,X O God,
    O God of my salvation,Y

Notes on verse 14a

W “deliver” = natsal. This is to snatch someone or something away in a good sense – as rescue, defend, or deliver – or in a bad sense – as strip or plunder.
X “bloodshed” = dam. Perhaps from damam (to cease, be or become mute, silent, still, cut off, hold peace, be astonished, die). This is blood, bloodshed, bloodguilt, lifeblood, and death. It is used for people and animals. More often blood from a wound or the blood of the innocent. Used figuratively for violence or for wine. Closely tied to life and death.
Y “salvation” = teshuah. Related to “salvation” in v12. From yasha (see note O above). This is deliverance or salvation.

    and my tongueZ will sing aloudAA of your deliverance.BB

Notes on verse 14b

Z “tongue” = lashon. This is tongue, talker, language, or wedge. It can also be a tongue of flame or a water cove.
AA “sing aloud” = ranan. This is a cry of joy or a joyful song. Properly, it is emitting a shrill sound, especially one of joy.
BB “deliverance” = tsedaqah. From the same as tsedeq (rightness, righteousness, vindication. It is everything that is just or ethical. That which is right in a natural, moral, or legal sense. It also includes just weights (i.e. true weights). Figuratively, this is justice, righteousness, equity – even prosperity). This is righteousness, justice, righteous acts, and moral virtue.


Image credit: “Hooded Oriole, Thousand Oaks, California” by Larry Miller, 2014.