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.

PSALMS 51:19KJV
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Psalms 51:19 (KJV)

What does Psalms 51:19 mean?

Psalms 51:19 says that once God is pleased, people will be able to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings that are truly righteous, and these offerings will be accepted on God’s altar. The verse points to a time when worship and offerings are restored and pleasing to God because they come from a right heart.

King David is speaking to God after confessing his sin and asking for forgiveness. He looks forward to a time when sacrifices—like burnt offerings and bullocks—will again be meaningful because they are given with sincerity and righteousness, not just as empty rituals. This verse wraps up David’s prayer by expressing hope that true worship will be restored.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 51:19

  • "pleased" (יֵרָצֶה, yēratseh): This word means to find favor or to be delighted with. David is focused on God’s acceptance, not just the outward act of sacrifice.
  • "sacrifices" (זֶבַח, zevach) and "offering" (עֹלָה, olah): "zevach" refers to general sacrifices, while "olah" is specifically a burnt offering that is entirely consumed by fire. The use of both words shows a full range of worship practices.
  • "righteousness" (צֶדֶק, tsedek): This word means justice or rightness. David emphasizes that the sacrifices must be rooted in a right relationship with God, not just performed as a duty.

Why Psalms 51:19 matters

  • Psalms 51:19 clarifies that God values the heart and righteousness behind sacrifices more than the ritual itself, which addresses a common misunderstanding about Old Testament worship.
  • The verse connects the restoration of true worship to repentance and forgiveness, showing that ritual offerings only have meaning when a person’s heart is right with God.
  • This verse ties the whole psalm together by showing David’s hope for renewed relationship with God and restored worship for the whole community, not just himself.

Where else these words appear

“whole” Hebrew H3632 · used in 15 verses

  • Exodus 28:31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
  • Numbers 4:6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
  • Isaiah 2:18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.

“pleased” Hebrew H2654 · used in 71 verses

  • Genesis 34:19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
  • Job 13:3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
  • Song of Solomon 2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

“righteousness” Hebrew H6664 · used in 109 verses

  • Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
  • Psalms 58:1 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
  • Ecclesiastes 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

“bullocks” Hebrew H6499 · used in 119 verses

  • Genesis 32:15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
  • Numbers 7:57 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:
  • Numbers 29:32 And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: