Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

Psalm 51 is one of the most intimate psalms in the Book of Psalms. King David wrote it at the most painful moment of his life — after the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sin with Bathsheba. Not a psalm of royal power. The prayer of a broken man before God, with nothing left but truth and desperate hope for forgiveness.

The central verse, chosen as the title of this song, is:

"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me."

David reaches beneath one specific act into the foundation of human existence — the truth that the pull toward wrongdoing is woven into our nature from birth. Not an excuse. The most honest confession a soul can make. And within that honesty lives the beginning of real change.

This song is part of the larger journey of the project: with God's help, to compose and sing the entire Book of Psalms in a diverse, emotional, Jewish, and uplifting musical language.