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Psalm 53
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Psalm 53[a]

A Lament over Widespread Corruption

1 For the leader; according to Mahalath. A maskil of David.

I

2 The fool says in his heart,(A)
    “There is no God.”(B)
They act corruptly and practice injustice;
    there is none that does good.
3 God looks out from the heavens
    upon the children of Adam,(C)
To see if there is a discerning person(D)
    who is seeking God.
4 All have gone astray;
    each one is altogether perverse.
    There is not one who does what is good, not even one.(E)

II

5 (F)Do they not know better, those who do evil,
    who feed upon my people as they feed upon bread?(G)
    Have they not called upon God?
6 They are going to fear his name with great fear,
    though they had not feared it before.
For God will scatter the bones
    of those encamped against you.
They will surely be put to shame,
    for God has rejected them.

III

7 Who will bring forth from Zion
    the salvation of Israel?
When God reverses the captivity of his people
    Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.(H)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53 A lament of an individual, duplicated in Ps 14, except that “God” is used for “the Lord,” and Ps 53:6 is different, cf. Ps 14.
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Psalm 53
Good News Translation

Human Wickedness[a](A)

53 (B)Fools say to themselves,
    “There is no God.”
They are all corrupt,
    and they have done terrible things;
    there is no one who does what is right.

2 God looks down from heaven at people
    to see if there are any who are wise,
    any who worship him.
3 But they have all turned away;
    they are all equally bad.
Not one of them does what is right,
    not a single one.

4 “Don't they know?” God asks.
    “Are these evildoers ignorant?
They live by robbing my people,
    and they never pray to me.”

5 But then they will become terrified,
    as they have never been before,
    for God will scatter the bones of the enemies of his people.
God has rejected them,
    and so Israel will totally defeat them.

6 How I pray that victory
    will come to Israel from Zion.
How happy the people of Israel will be
    when God makes them prosperous again!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53:1 HEBREW TITLE: A poem by David.
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Psalm 53
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Psalm 53

Denunciation of Godlessness

To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;
    there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
    to see if there are any who are wise,
    who seek after God.

3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;
    there is no one who does good,
    no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread,
    and do not call upon God?

5 There they shall be in great terror,
    in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;[a]
    they will be put to shame,[b] for God has rejected them.

6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53:5 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb him who encamps against you
  2. Psalm 53:5 Gk: Heb you have put (them) to shame
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Psalm 53
New American Standard Bible

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director; according to [a]Mahalath. A [b]Maskil of David.

53 (A)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
(B)There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there is (C)anyone who [c]understands,
Who (D)seeks after God.
3 (E)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Have the workers of injustice (F)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people like they ate bread,
And have not called upon God?
5 They were in great [d]fear there, (G)where no [e]fear had been;
For God (H)scattered the bones of [f]him who encamped against you;
You (I)put them to shame, because (J)God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that (K)the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53 Title I.e., sickness, a sad tone
  2. Psalm 53 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
  3. Psalm 53:2 Or acts wisely
  4. Psalm 53:5 Or dread
  5. Psalm 53:5 Or dread
  6. Psalm 53:5 Or possibly those
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Psalm 53
New International Version

Psalm 53[a](A)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.[b] A maskil[c] of David.

1 The fool(B) says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”(C)
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven(D)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(E)
    any who seek God.(F)
3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
    there is no one who does good,
    not even one.(G)

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;
    they never call on God.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    where there was nothing to dread.(H)
God scattered the bones(I) of those who attacked you;(J)
    you put them to shame,(K) for God despised them.(L)

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When God restores his people,
    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53:1 In Hebrew texts 53:1-6 is numbered 53:2-7.
  2. Psalm 53:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  3. Psalm 53:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
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Psalm 54
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

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