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Psalm 53

For the choir director: A meditation; a psalm[a] of David.

Only fools say in their hearts,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
    not one of them does good!

God looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt.[b]
No one does good,
    not a single one!

Will those who do evil never learn?
    They eat up my people like bread
    and wouldn’t think of praying to God.
Terror will grip them,
    terror like they have never known before.
God will scatter the bones of your enemies.
    You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
    When God restores his people,
    Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

Footnotes

  1. 53:Title Hebrew According to mahalath; a maskil. These may be literary or musical terms.
  2. 53:3 Greek version reads have become useless. Compare Rom 3:12.

53 Only a fool would say to himself, “There is no God.” And why does he say it?[a] Because of his wicked heart, his dark and evil deeds. His life is corroded with sin.

God looks down from heaven, searching among all mankind to see if there is a single one who does right and really seeks for God. But all have turned their backs on him; they are filthy with sin—corrupt and rotten through and through. Not one is good, not one! How can this be? Can’t they understand anything? For they devour my people like bread and refuse to come to God. But soon unheard-of terror will fall on them. God will scatter the bones of these, your enemies. They are doomed, for God has rejected them.

Oh, that God would come from Zion now and save Israel! Only when the Lord himself restores them can they ever be really happy again.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 53:1 And why does he say it? implied.