Translations
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Against You—You alone —have I sinned, and what is evil in Your eyes I have done; so that You are proved right when You speak,and blameless when You judge.
Against You — You alone — have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are justified when You speak and beyond reproach when You render judgment.
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
Footnotes
The phrase lecha levadcha (to You, to You alone) is not a denial that David wronged Uriah and Bathsheba — the narrative makes that impossible to miss. It is a recognition that ultimately all sin is cosmic treason against the Creator-King; human victims are real, but the primary rupture is with YHWH Himself. The second half of the verse is quoted verbatim by Sha'ul in Romans 3:4 (via the Greek Septuagint), where David's personal confession becomes the theological cornerstone for God's righteousness in judging all humanity. F.O.G. renders titzdak as 'proved right' to emphasise the forensic vindication embedded in the verb tsadaq; F.O.G.M. uses 'justified' to preserve the Pauline resonance that centuries of readers have found in this line.
