Bible Strands
Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David, after the Bathsheba incident, addresses God directly, moving from the rejection of external sacrifice (v. 16) to stating what God actually accepts (v. 17) before pivoting to a corporate prayer for Zion (v. 18).
The words — נִדְכֶּה (nid.Keh, H1794) means "crushed" or "bruised," distinct from the twice-used נִשְׁבָּר (nish.Bar, H7665) "broken"; the verse pairs a fracture with a grinding, suggesting not just a single crack but a sustained crushing of the self.
The thread — Isaiah 66:2 names the same person God esteems: the poor and contrite in spirit. Psalms 34:18 echoes the pairing of brokenhearted and contrite, and Psalms 147:3 shows God's response to that state.
Why it lands — The verse removes the option of substituting ritual performance for genuine inner collapse; God's stated preference is your actual brokenness, not your best imitation of piety.
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
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Cross-references
- Psalms 34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
- Isaiah 66:2 Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.
- Psalms 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
- Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
- Mark 12:33 and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
- Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 2 Chronicles 33:12 And in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers.
- Psalms 102:17 He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer.
- Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Hebrews 13:16 And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.