Psalm 53

⁴In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.

¹For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

²The Lord looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

¹⁰As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.

¹¹There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

²⁴There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

⁶Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

²So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

¹⁷For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.

⁸My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O Lord, I will seek.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!

²⁴“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

¹²All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

⁶Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

⁶We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

³All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

⁵Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.

⁶I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle.

¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

²²“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”

²⁵Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.

²When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

⁸Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?

¹¹When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.

¹⁶And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

³⁶As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.

³⁰They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them.”

⁵I will lay the corpses of the Israelites before their idols and scatter your bones around your altars.

⁷As when one plows and breaks up the soil, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

¹⁶Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord.

¹⁷May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.

¹⁸This is what the Lord says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will stand in its rightful place.

⁷Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the Lord restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

⁶Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”

¹A song of ascents. When the Lord restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.

²Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

³²What answer will be given to the envoys of that nation? “The Lord has founded Zion, where His afflicted people will find refuge.”

¹In that day you will say: “O Lord, I will praise You. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me.

²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the Lord God is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”