Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 53
The Fool
(Psalm 14)
Heading
For the choir director. According to mahalath.[a] A maskil by David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They commit horrible evil.
There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
to see if there is anyone who understands,
anyone who seeks God.
3 Every single one has turned back.
Altogether they have become rotten.
There is no one who does good.
There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4 Don’t they know, all those evildoers,
who devour my people as if they were eating bread?
They do not call on God.
5 There they are, terrified, where there was nothing to fear.
For God scattered the bones of those who camped against you.
You put them to shame, because God despised them.
Closing Prayer
6 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[b]
When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed against the command[a] of the Lord, as well as against your words, because I was afraid of the people, so I listened to their voice. 25 But now, please pardon my sin and come back with me again, so that I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today, and he has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. 29 The Splendor of Israel will not lie or change his mind, because he is not a man, who changes his mind.”
30 Then Saul said, “I have sinned, but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.
Listen and Do
43 “Certainly a good tree does not produce bad fruit, and a bad tree does not produce good fruit. 44 In fact, each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorn bushes, and they do not gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 The good person brings what is good out of the good stored in his heart, and the evil person brings what is evil out of the evil within.[a] To be sure, what his mouth speaks flows from the heart.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.