Bible Strands
Psalms 32:1
Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David, in a Maskil (instructional poem), declares a condition of blessedness without addressing God directly. It reads as a personal reflection on the state of one who has already received forgiveness.
The words — 'Ashrei (H835) is an exclamatory formula, "how blessed!", that opens a series of psalms (1, 41, 84, 112, 128). The verse stacks distinct Hebrew terms for sin — pasha' (transgression), chata'ah (sin), and aven (iniquity, v. 2) — each paired with a different facet of divine pardon.
The thread — Paul quotes this verse in Romans 4:6 to argue that God credits righteousness apart from works. The "covered" language recurs in Isaiah 44:22 ("blotted out like a cloud") and Psalms 85:2 ("You covered all their sin").
Why it lands — It names blessedness as something received — forgiven, covered, not counted — not something achieved. The reader is asked to check whether they locate their standing in pardon or in performance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Cross-references
- Romans 4:6 And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
- Isaiah 44:22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- Psalms 85:2 You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah
- Acts 13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
- Isaiah 43:25 I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
- Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Psalms 40:4 Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.