Psalms 51 · Verse 18

Psalms 51:18

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Psalms 51:18, King James Version

Psalms 51:18 in other translations

BSB	In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
WEB	Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.
ASV	Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
YLT	Do good in Thy good pleasure with Zion, Thou dost build the walls of Jerusalem.
DARBY	Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
BBE	Do good to Zion in your good pleasure, building up the walls of Jerusalem.
Webster	Do good in thy good pleasure to Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

What does Psalms 51:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

18. Do good, &c.--Visit not my sin on Thy Church. build ... walls--is to show favor; compare Psa 89:40, for opposite form and idea.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion - This and the following verse most evidently refer to the time of the captivity, when the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and the temple service entirely discontinued; and, consequently, are long posterior to the times of David. Hence it has been concluded that the Psalm was not composed by David, nor in his time and that the title must be that of some other Psalm inadvertently affixed to this. The fourth verse has also been considered as decisive against this title: but the note on that verse has considerably weakened, if not destroyed, that objection. I have been long of opinion that, whether the title be properly or improperly affixed to this Psalm, these two verses make no part of it: the subject is totally dissimilar; and there is no rule of analogy by which it can be interpreted as belonging to the Psalm, to the subject, or to the person. I think they originally made a Psalm of themselves, a kind of ejaculatory prayer for the redemption of the captives from Babylon, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the temple worship. And, taken in this light, they are very proper and very expressive. The Psa 117:1-2 contains only two verses; and is an ejaculation of praise from the captives who had just then returned from Babylon. And it is a fact that this Psalm is written as a part of the cxvith in no less than thirty-two of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS.; and in some early editions. Again, because of its smallness, it has been absorbed by the cxviiith, of which it makes the commencement, in twenty-eight of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. In a similar way I suppose the two last verses of this Psalm to have been absorbed by the preceding, which originally made a complete Psalm of themselves; and this absorption was the more easy, because, like the cxviith it has no title. I cannot allege a similar evidence relative to these two verses, as ever having made a distinct Psalm; but of the fact I can have no doubt, for the reasons assigned above. And I still think that Psalm is too dignified, too energetic, and too elegant, to have been the composition of any but David. It was not Asaph; it was not any of the sons of Korah; it was not Heman or Jeduthun: the hand and mind of a greater master are here.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 51:16-19

Those who are thoroughly convinced of their misery and danger by sin, would spare no cost to obtain the remission of it. But as they cannot make satisfaction for sin, so God cannot take any satisfaction in them, otherwise than as expressing love and duty to him. The good work wrought in every true penitent, is a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, and sorrow for sin. It is a heart that is tender, and…

Read the full comment on Psalms 51:16-19 →

Psalms 51:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הֵיטִ֣יבָהhei.Ti.vahdo good to !H3190

בִ֭רְצוֹנְךָVir.tzon.khain favor yourH7522

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

צִיּ֑וֹןtzi.YonZionH6726

תִּ֝בְנֶ֗הtiv.Nehyou will buildH1129

חוֹמ֥וֹתcho.Mot[the] walls ofH2346

יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם\׃ye.ru.sha.LimJerusalemH3389

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 51:18

Psalms 102:16
When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
Philippians 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Ephesians 1:5
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Zechariah 2:5
For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
Luke 12:32
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Psalms 122:6-9
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.
Isaiah 58:12
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isaiah 62:6-7
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Micah 7:11
In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
2 Thessalonians 1:11
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
Nehemiah 2:17
Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
Isaiah 62:1
For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Do.
25:22; 102:16; 122:6-9; 137:5,6; Isa 62:1,6,7; Jer 51:50
2Co 11:28,29
thy.
Lu 12:32; Eph 1:5,9; Php 2:13; 2Th 1:11
build.
Ne 2:17; Isa 58:12; Da 9:25; Mic 7:11; Zec 2:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalms 51:18
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Psalms 51:19
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Read all of Psalms 51

Psalms 51:18 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Haz bien con tu benevolencia á Sión: edifica los muros de Jerusalem.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Car tu ne prends pas plaisir aux sacrifices, autrement j’en donnerais; l’holocauste ne t’est point agréable:
German Elberfelder 1871	Tue Zion Gutes in deiner Gunst, baue die Mauern Jerusalems!