Psalm 51
| Psalm 51 | |
|---|---|
| "Have mercy upon me, O God" | |
| Penitential Psalm | |
Latin text on a holy water font: see verse 9 below | |
| Other name |
|
| Language | Hebrew (original) |
| Psalm 51 | |
|---|---|
← Psalm 50 Psalm 52 → | |
| Book | Book of Psalms |
| Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 1 |
| Category | Sifrei Emet |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 19 |
Psalm 51, one of the penitential psalms, is the 51st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Have mercy upon me, O God". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 50. In Latin, it is known as Miserere, (Ancient Greek: ἐλέησόν με ὁ θεός, romanized: eléēsón me ho Theós) in Ancient Greek: Ἥ Ἐλεήμων, romanized: Hḗ Eleḗmōn), especially in musical settings. The introduction in the text says that it was composed by David as a confession to God after he sinned with Bathsheba.
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant liturgies.