Of the many crimes King David is accused of, the deceitful act in which he raped a married woman and then had her husband who was one of his generals killed in battle - is high on the list. David’s remorse is recorded elsewhere in the Bible and the product of this affair would become the next sovereign in line, but it is in the psalm that the deeper layers of this sordid affair come to light. Did David truly regret? What about this story is still relevant to us right now? Psalm 51 is unique in many ways, including the opening lines that include two different intentions:
לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ בְּֽבוֹא־אֵ֭לָיו נָתָ֣ן הַנָּבִ֑יא כַּאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֝֗א אֶל־בַּת־שָֽׁבַע׃
For the leader. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had come to Bathsheba.
Ps 51:1-2
The psalm begins with just an ordinary coda instructing the conductor but then we are told the origin of its composition. This is a poem recited in shame, after the king is chastised by the prophet and made to face his despicable actions. But even his words of shame are perplexing. Does David really realize what he has done? Has he made amends?
Notice the problematics of verse 6, as the pentinet poet-king cries to God:
לְךָ֤ לְבַדְּךָ֨ ׀ חָטָאתִי֮ וְהָרַ֥ע בְּעֵינֶ֗יךָ עָ֫שִׂ֥יתִי לְ֭מַעַן תִּצְדַּ֥ק בְּדבְרֶ֗ךָ תִּזְכֶּ֥ה בְשפְטֶֽךָ׃
Against You alone have I sinned,
and done what is evil in Your sight;
so You are just in Your sentence,
and right in Your judgment.
Ps. 51:6
Really? Is it against God that David has sinned - and what about the woman who was taken against her will and the loyal husband who was murdered?
Shoshana Michael Zucker, an Israeli-American translator writes this powerful piece, including a protest in the name of Bathsheba - the rape victim who became a queen:
“Unusually, the heading of Psalm 51 consists of two verses. The general, “For the leader. A psalm of David,” is supplemented by the more specific “when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had come to Bathsheba.” The second verse, which specifies the sin for which David is confessing, both clarifies and complicates the body of the psalm, particularly verse 6a: “Against You alone have I sinned.” David’s use of royal power to force a sexual relationship with a married woman, Bathsheba, and then send her husband Uriah to his death is surely evil in the sight of God - but how can David claim to have sinned only against God? Even though David knows that he has done something grievously wrong, he does not see the people who he exploited. Neither Bathsheba nor Uriah are important to him.
Imagine a mournful Bathsheba wandering the palace halls. When she overhears David’s prayer, her sorrow turns to anger:
“Against God alone you have sinned? Do you not see me? Do you not see Uriah your faithful general, wounded and dying in the field of battle at your behest? Have you no mercy on the child who will be sacrificed as hyssop, to wash you of your iniquity?
“Do you really think you have a chance with God, that the Creator who has mercy on all Creation will show you faithfulness and abundant compassion, blotting out your transgressions; in return for your promise to teach transgressors God’s ways, so they will return to God? What do you know of returning to God, of acting with compassion, of caring for someone other than yourself? No, you know only the power that God granted you (for some reason beyond my comprehension). You can beg God to fashion you a pure heart and steadfast spirit, but it is going to take more than contrition to wash you whiter than snow. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something to deserve being delivered from bloodguilt.”
Bathsheba, trapped in the palace and confined by the social norms of her time, is unlikely to have spoken these words to David. She does, however, exact recompense from the weakened king who never recovers his former powers, by ensuring that her son Solomon ascends to the throne instead of Adonijah.
Returning to the heading, I want to share the innovative reading of לדוד leDavid, proposed by Prof. J. Richard Middleton, whose scholarship helped me channel Bathsheba’s anger. “LeDavid” is commonly translated “of David,” indicating purported authorship. But Hebrew prepositions are multivalent, and in verse 6, David says to God, “לך-lecha *against* You I have sinned.” If ל– in verse 6 means “against,” it could also have that meaning in verse 1. In that case, the chapter becomes a “Psalm against David,” showing how his self-centered focus on his own sin erases other people. Perhaps that is what prevents him from ever returning to former self. “
This thoughtful commentary brings the words of Bathsheba to the front of our minds so that her voice, and that of every woman, every rape victim, is heard loud and clear, demanding our belief, solidarity, support, regret and commitment to repair and justice.
It also helps us figure out how this psalm still resonates today - for whatever crimes we’ve each committed, and for whatever ways we must make amends.
The psalm includes a few references to David’s broken heart.
And it also references the previous chapter, where sacrifices are scorned as mere gestures when what we really need is gratitude, sincerity, the ability to say that we are sorry and truly atone for what we have done. The real sacrificial offering, the poet says here, is a broken heart:
זִ֥בְחֵ֣י אֱלֹהִים֮ ר֤וּחַ נִשְׁבָּ֫רָ֥ה לֵב־נִשְׁבָּ֥ר וְנִדְכֶּ֑ה אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לֹ֣א תִבְזֶֽה׃
True sacrifice to God is a broken spirit;
God, You will not despise
a contrite and crushed heart.
Ps. 51:19
One more verse from this poem has become quite famous, inserted into many prayer books and composed numerous times. The assumption is that we were born with a pure heart - and with our commitment to change, to repair and to recognize our relative place in the world - we might be worthy of a second chance:
לֵ֣ב טָ֭הוֹר בְּרָא־לִ֣י אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְר֥וּחַ נָ֝כ֗וֹן חַדֵּ֥שׁ בְּקִרְבִּֽי׃
A pure heart was created in my by God;
Create in me a new, and ready spirit.
Ps. 51:12
Give your heart a gift of renewal by listening to this moving musical adaptation of this verse, by the beloved Netanel Goldberg.
Image: Marc Chagall, David et Bethsabée, lithograph; France: 1956
Who Wrote These Psalms??
Our Monthly Zoom Session on 6/20 (rescheduled)
If it wasn’t King David who wrote the Psalms, despite popular religious lore, and according to most reliable scholarship - then who are the authors of these poets of piety and protest? Did they leave us some important information to decode as we struggle with our personal and public problems?
Clues are everywhere.
Join me on June 20th for our monthly Zoom conversation Below the Bible Belt - and find out more about the authors and how these ancient hymns may be helpful to us during this difficult time in the world, and as we each face challenges and celebrate life’s blessings.
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Forgive me for asking, but could it be possible too that Bathsheba seduced David as well? After all, she was bathing in the open where he could see. She had much to gain, regardless of her feelings for her husband. Just a thought, and would like to hear your opinion. Thanks