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Read the Bible

Amplified Bible

Psalms 51:6

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Desire;   Homicide;   Prayer;   Spirituality;   Truth;   Wisdom;   Scofield Reference Index - Bible Prayers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Cleansing;   David;   Defilement-Cleansing;   Water;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Law of God, the;   Truth;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Nathan;   Psalms, the Book of;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Repentance;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Teach, Teacher;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Commentary;   Desertion;   Hypocrisy;   Obedience;   Sanctification;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ethics;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Inwards, Inward Parts;   Lie, Lying;   Man;   Prayer;   Psalms;   Sanctification, Sanctify;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - God (2);   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Bath-sheba;   David;   God;   Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Omniscience;   Sin (1);   Truth;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for September 8;   Every Day Light - Devotion for May 20;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,and you teach me wisdom deep within.
Hebrew Names Version
Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
King James Version
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
English Standard Version
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
New Century Version
You want me to be completely truthful, so teach me wisdom.
New English Translation
Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom.
New American Standard Bible
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in secret You will make wisdom known to me.
World English Bible
Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Beholde, thou louest trueth in the inwarde affections: therefore hast thou taught mee wisedome in the secret of mine heart.
Legacy Standard Bible
Behold, You delight in truth in the innermost being,And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Berean Standard Bible
Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Contemporary English Version
But you want complete honesty, so teach me true wisdom.
Complete Jewish Bible
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil from your perspective; so that you are right in accusing me and justified in passing sentence.
Darby Translation
Behold, thou wilt have truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden [part] thou wilt make me to know wisdom.
Easy-to-Read Version
You want me to be completely loyal, so put true wisdom deep inside of me.
George Lamsa Translation
Behold, thou desirest truth, and the hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made known to me.
Good News Translation
Sincerity and truth are what you require; fill my mind with your wisdom.
Lexham English Bible
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts you make me to know wisdom.
Literal Translation
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden parts You teach me wisdom.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But lo, thou hast a pleasure in the treuth, and hast shewed me secrete wy?dome.
American Standard Version
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom.
Bible in Basic English
Your desire is for what is true in the inner parts: in the secrets of my soul you will give me knowledge of wisdom.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in Thy sight;
King James Version (1611)
Behold, thou desirest trueth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisedome.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Neuerthelesse, lo thou requirest trueth in the inwarde partes [of me]: & [therfore] thou wylt make me learne wisdome in the secrete [part of myne heart.]
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For, behold, thou lovest truth: thou hast manifested to me the secret and hidden things of thy wisdom.
English Revised Version
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For lo! thou louedist treuthe; thou hast schewid to me the vncerteyn thingis, and pryuy thingis of thi wisdom.
Update Bible Version
Look, you desire truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom.
Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden [part] thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
New King James Version
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
New Living Translation
But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
New Life Bible
See, You want truth deep within the heart. And You will make me know wisdom in the hidden part.
New Revised Standard
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Lo! faithfulness, hast thou desired in the inward parts, Yea, in the hidden part, wilt thou cause me to know, wisdom.
Douay-Rheims Bible
(50-8) For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.
Revised Standard Version
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Young's Literal Translation
Lo, truth Thou hast desired in the inward parts, And in the hidden part Wisdom Thou causest me to know.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

Contextual Overview

1Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt And cleanse me from my sin. 3For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; My sin is always before me. 4Against You, You only, have I sinned And done that which is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence] And faultless in Your judgment. 5I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness; In sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful]. 6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Behold: Psalms 26:2, Psalms 125:4, Genesis 20:5, Genesis 20:6, 2 Kings 20:3, 1 Chronicles 29:17, 2 Chronicles 31:20, 2 Chronicles 31:21, Proverbs 2:21, Jeremiah 5:3, John 4:23, John 4:24, 2 Corinthians 1:12, James 4:8

inward: Psalms 5:9, 1 Samuel 16:7, Job 38:36, Luke 11:39, Romans 7:22

in the hidden: Job 32:8, Jeremiah 31:33, Jeremiah 32:40, 1 Peter 3:4

Reciprocal: Exodus 40:31 - washed Leviticus 1:9 - inwards Leviticus 7:3 - General 2 Samuel 22:24 - upright Job 28:12 - General Psalms 51:16 - desirest Psalms 62:4 - inwardly Proverbs 11:20 - upright Matthew 5:8 - are Matthew 23:28 - ye also John 3:10 - and knowest Romans 7:14 - the law Hebrews 5:9 - eternal

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts,.... With delight and pleasure, as the word d signifies: meaning either Christ, the truth and the life, formed and dwelling in the hearts of his people; or the Gospel, the word of truth, which has a place there; and particularly that branch of it which proclaims pardon to sensible sinners, and is the ground of hope within them: or else a true and hearty confession of sin, which David now made; or rather internal holiness and purity of heart, in opposition to the corruption of nature before acknowledged: this is what is agreeable to the nature of God, is required by his holy law, and is wrought in the hearts of his people in regeneration; and this is "truth", real, and not imaginary, genuine and unfeigned; where it is there is a true sense of sin, a right sight of Christ, unfeigned faith in him, sincere love to him, hope in him without hypocrisy, and a reverential fear of God upon the heart; the inward parts are the seat of all this, and in the exercise of it the Lord takes great delight and pleasure;

and in the hidden [part] thou shall make me to know wisdom; either Christ, the wisdom of God; or the Gospel, and particularly that part of it which concerns the pardon of sin; or a true knowledge of sin, and of the way of life and salvation by Christ, which is the truest and highest wisdom: and the phrase "hidden" or "secret" may either denote the nature of the wisdom made known, which is hidden wisdom, the wisdom of God in a mystery; or the manner in which it is made known; it is in a hidden way, privately, and secretly, and indiscernibly like the wind, by the Spirit and grace of God; or the seat and subject of it, "the hidden part", as we supply it; the hidden man of the heart. David begins to rise in the exercise of his faith in the grace of God, "thou shall make me to know", c. unless the words should be rendered as a prayer, as they are by some, "make me to know" e, c. and as are the following.

d חפצת "delectaris", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator "delectatus es", Cocceius so Ainsworth. e תודיעני "notam mihi fac", Gejerus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts - The word rendered “desirest,” means to have pleasure in; to delight in; and the idea is that this only is agreeable to God, or this only accords with his own nature. The word rendered “inward parts,” means properly the reins, and is usually employed to denote the seat of the mind, the feelings, the intellect. Compare the notes at Job 38:36. The allusion is to the “soul;” and the idea is, that God could be satisfied with nothing “but” purity in the soul. The “connection” is this: David was deeply conscious of his own pollution; his deep, early, native depravity. This, in his own mind, he contrasted strongly with the nature of God, and with what God must require, and be pleased with. He “felt” that God could not approve of or love such a heart as his, so vile, so polluted, so corrupt; and he felt that it was necessary that he should have a pure heart in order to meet with the favor of a God so holy. But how was that to be obtained? His mind at once adverted to the fact that it could come only from God; and hence, the psalm now turns from confession to prayer. The psalmist pleads earnestly Psalms 51:7-10 that God “would” thus cleanse and purify his soul.

And in the hidden part - In the secret part; the heart; the depths of the soul. The cleansing was to begin in that which was hidden from the eye of man; in the soul itself. Wisdom, heavenly, saving wisdom, was to have its seat there; the cleansing needed was not any mere outward purification, it was the purification of the soul itself.

Thou shalt make me to know wisdom - Thou only canst enable me to understand what is truly wise. This wisdom, this cleansing, this knowledge of the way in which a guilty man can be restored to favor, can be imparted only by thee; and “thou wilt do it.” There is here, therefore, at the same time a recognition of the truth that this “must” come from God, and an act of faith, or a strong assurance that he “would” impart this.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 51:6. Behold, thou desirest truth — I am the very reverse of what I should be. Thou desirest truth in the heart; but in me there is nothing but sin and falsity.

Thou shalt make me to know wisdom. — Thou wilt teach me to restrain every inordinate propensity, and to act according to the dictates of sound wisdom, the rest of my life.


 
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