Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 14
The Fool
(Psalm 53)
Heading
For the choir director. By David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They do disgusting things.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God.
3 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
4 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.
5 There they are! They are terrified
because God is present in the circle of the righteous.
6 You try to put the plans of the poor to shame,
but the Lord is their refuge.
Closing Prayer
7 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[a]
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
6 The Ammonites saw that they had become a digusting stench to David, so they sent and hired twenty thousand foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, one thousand men from the king of Ma’akah, and twelve thousand men from Tob.[a]
7 When David heard about it, he deployed Joab and the entire army, the strong warriors.
8 The Ammonites went out and lined up in battle formation in front of the entrance to the city gate. Aram Zobah and Aram Rehob, as well as the men of Tob and Ma’akah, were lined up by themselves in the open country.
9 Joab saw that the battle lines were drawn up against him both in front of him and behind him, so he chose some of the best troops of Israel and lined them up to confront the Arameans. 10 The rest of the men he placed under the command of his brother Abishai and lined them up to face the Ammonites. 11 He said, “If Aram is too strong for me, then you are to rescue me. If the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong. We must show ourselves to be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his eyes.”
List of Virtues
12 Therefore, as God’s elect, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint against anyone else. Forgive, just as Christ[a] forgave you. 14 And, in addition to all these things, put on love, which ties things together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, to which you were also called, in one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ[b] dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.[c] 17 And everything you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.