Psalms 51:16 (WEB)

Passage

For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

Nearby Context

Psalms 51:14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Psalms 51:15 Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise.

Psalms 51:16 For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalms 51:18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "delight", "sacrifice", "else", "give", "pleasure", "burnt", and "offering". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "delight", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Lord open my lips My mouth shall..." into verse 17's "The sacrifices of God are a broken...", so "light" and "delight" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "delight" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.