Psalm 51 · a question people ask
"Behold, I was born in iniquity" (51:5). What is the psalmist saying?
He says it of himself, in the first person: "Behold, I was born in iniquity. My mother conceived me in sin" (51:5). It comes after "For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me" (51:3) and "Against you, and you only, I have sinned" (51:4). The next verse begins with the same Hebrew word, hen, Behold: "Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place" (51:6). The psalm doesn't explain 51:5 further, and these notes don't choose a reading of it. For the verse beside the law after childbirth, see Leviticus 12.
The verses
“For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge. Behold, I was born in iniquity. My mother conceived me in sin. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”