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Psalm 14

Denunciation of Godlessness

To the leader. Of David.

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt; they do abominable deeds;
    there is no one who does good.(A)

The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
    to see if there are any who are wise,
    who seek after God.(B)

They have all gone astray; they are all alike perverse;
    there is no one who does good,
    no, not one.(C)

Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
    who eat up my people as they eat bread
    and do not call upon the Lord?(D)

There they shall be in great terror,
    for God is with the company of the righteous.(E)
You would confound the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.(F)

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

Psalm 14

The Fool
(Psalm 53)

Heading

For the choir director. By David.

A Description of the Fool

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They do disgusting things.
There is no one who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
    to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God.
Every one of them has turned away.
Altogether they have become rotten.
There is no one who does good.
There is not even one.

The Final Fate of the Fool

Don’t any of these evildoers understand,
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread?
They do not call on the Lord.
There they are! They are terrified
    because God is present in the circle of the righteous.
You try to put the plans of the poor to shame,
but the Lord is their refuge.

Closing Prayer

Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[a]
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 14:7 Or Oh that salvation for Israel would come from Zion!