Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 Fools say ·to themselves [L in their hearts],
“There is no God [C Psalm 53 largely parallels this psalm].”
·Fools are evil [L They are corrupt] and do ·terrible [detestable] things [Deut. 32:5];
there is no one who does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone ·understood [L was wise/insightful],
if anyone was ·looking to God for help [seeking God].
3 But all have ·turned [wandered] away.
Together, everyone has become ·evil [perverse].
There is no one who does anything good,
not even one [Rom. 3:10–12].
4 Don’t ·the wicked [L those who do evil] ·understand [know]?
They ·destroy [consume; L eat] my people as if they were ·eating [consuming] bread.
They do not ·ask the Lord for help [call on the Lord].
5 But the wicked are ·filled [terrified] with terror,
because God is with ·those who do what is right [the company of the righteous].
6 The wicked ·upset [confuse; frustrate] the plans of the poor,
but the Lord ·will protect them [is their refuge].
7 I pray that ·victory [salvation] will come to Israel from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple]!
May the Lord ·bring them back [restore the fortunes of his people; C perhaps at the end of the exile].
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
6 ·The Ammonites knew that they had insulted David. So [L When the sons/descendants of Ammon realized they had become odious to/greatly offended David,] they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah. They also hired the king of Maacah with a thousand men and twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the whole army [L with all its warriors]. 8 The ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] came out and ·prepared for battle [drew up in battle formations] at the city gate. The ·Arameans [Syrians] from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah were out in the field by themselves.
9 Joab saw that there were ·enemies [battle lines] both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the ·best soldiers [elite troops] of Israel and ·sent them out to fight [deployed them against] the ·Arameans [Syrians]. 10 Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. Then he ·sent them out to fight [deployed them against] the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon]. 11 Joab said to Abishai, “If the ·Arameans [Syrians] are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon] are too strong for you, I will help you. 12 Be strong. ·We must fight bravely [Let us show ourselves courageous] for our people and the cities of our God. ·The Lord will [May the Lord] do what he thinks is right.”
12 ·God loves you and has chosen you and made you his holy people. So [L As God’s chosen, holy and beloved ones; Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9] you should always clothe yourselves with ·mercy [L a heart of compassion], kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 ·Bear with [Make allowances for; Be patient with] each other, and forgive each other. If someone ·does wrong to you [L has a grievance/complaint against someone], forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. 14 ·Even more than all this [Above all], clothe yourself in love, which ·holds you all together in perfect unity [or binds everything together; L is the bond of perfection/completeness]. 15 Let the peace ·that Christ gives [of Christ] ·control [rule; arbitrate] your ·thinking [hearts], because you were all called together in one body [C the church as the body of Christ] to have peace. Always be thankful. 16 Let the ·teaching [message; word] of Christ ·live in [or dwell among] you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and ·instruct [warn; admonish] each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with ·thankfulness [gratitude; grace] in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you do or say should be done ·to obey [or as a representative of; L in the name of] the Lord Jesus. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
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