Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. By mahalath. A maskil of David.
53 A wicked fool says to himself,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil. They do terrible things.
None of them does anything good.
2 God looked down from heaven at all the people.
He looked to see if anyone was wise,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But everyone has turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
None of them does anything good.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They have not asked God for help.
5 The wicked became filled with terror
where there had been nothing to be terrified of.
God will scatter the bones of your enemies.
You will defeat them,
because God has rejected them.
6 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May God give them back their riches.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice.
And the people of Israel will be glad.
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I didn’t obey the Lord’s commands. I didn’t do what you told me. I was afraid of the people, and I did what they said. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin. Come back with me so I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you. You refused the Lord’s command. And now he rejects you as king of Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to one of your neighbors. He has given it to one better than you. 29 The Lord is the Eternal One of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a man. So he does not change his mind as men do.”
30 Saul answered, “I have sinned. But please honor me in front of my people’s elders. Please honor me in front of the Israelites. Come back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
Two Kinds of Fruit
43 “A good tree does not produce bad fruit. Also, a bad tree does not produce good fruit. 44 Each tree is known by its fruit. People don’t gather figs from thornbushes. And they don’t get grapes from bushes. 45 A good person has good things saved up in his heart. And so he brings good things out of his heart. But an evil person has evil things saved up in his heart. So he brings out bad things. A person speaks the things that are in his heart.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.