Proponents of original sin usually cite several key biblical texts as
the alleged foundation for this doctrine. One is Ps 51:5, “Behold, I was
brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” Is David here
affirming that he was sinful as soon as he was conceived and born?
Several comments are in order. First, there are other ways to understand
the grammar of this verse. Strictly speaking, David does not apply the sin and
iniquity to himself, contrary to the NIV, which says, “Surely I was sinful at
birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” But he does not actually
say, “I was sinful.” The prepositional phrases “in iniquity” and “in sin” are
used to modify the act of being conceived and the act of being born. It is
possible that the sin belongs to the mother. It has been pointed out that “in
sin my mother conceived me” is grammatically parallel to “in drunkenness my
husband beat me.” Another possibility is that the phrases “in iniquity” and “in
sin” are meant to describe the pervasiveness of sin in the world into which
David was born.
It must be granted, though, that the major theme of the Psalm is David’s
repentance for his own sins, specifically the sins connected with his lust for
Bathsheba. But if the focus is on David’s personal sins (vv. 1-4) and not on
some kind of inherited sin, why does he refer to iniquity connected with his
birth (v. 5)? Basically he does so in order to express and confess his
awareness of the depth of sin in his heart and the seriousness of his sin with
Bathsheba. He is humbling himself before Go in figurative language, in the same
way that biblical writers sometimes refer to man as a worm (Ps 22:6; Job 17;14;
25:6; Isa 41:14). This is hyperbole, or exaggeration for emphasis. The same
device is used in Ps 58:3, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who
speak lies go astray from birth.” This is not an affirmation of original sin
since it is not applied to all human beings; it is an exaggeration intended to
insult the wicked and emphasize the depth of heir perversity. So with Ps 51:5,
which is meant to apply to the repentant David alone.
Even if we should grant that Ps 51:5 is meant to teach some form of
universal original sin, it could not be used to support the Augustinian and
Catholic versions of this doctrine. The most that could be drawn from it is
partial depravity, as in semi-Pelagianism; it neither affirms not implies total
depravity and inherited guilt. (Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once for All: Bible
Doctrine for Today [College Press, 2002, 2023], 185-86)
