Psalm 53-55

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

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.

⁶ Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?^[b]
When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

¹ God, save me by your name.
By your power judge me justly.
² God, hear my prayer.
Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.

³ For strangers have risen up against me.
Ruthless men seek my life. Interlude
They pay no attention to God.

⁴ Indeed, God is my helper.
The Lord is the one who preserves my life.
⁵ Let evil return on those who oppress me.
In your faithfulness destroy them.

⁶ I will sacrifice willingly to you.
I will praise your name, O Lord, because it is good.
⁷ Surely, from all my distress he has delivered me.
My eyes have looked down on my enemies.

¹ Turn your ear to my prayer, O God.
Do not hide from my plea for mercy.
² Pay attention to me and answer me.

I am troubled in my thoughts and I groan
³     because of talk from the enemy,
    because of oppression from the wicked,
    because they dump evil on me,
    and in anger they hold a grudge against me.
⁴ My heart is in anguish within me.
The terrors of death fall on me.
⁵ Fear and trembling come over me.
Horror covers me.
⁶ So I say, “I wish I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find a place to rest.
⁷ Yes, I would flee far away. Interlude
I would stay in the wilderness.
⁸ I would hurry to find shelter,
    far from the violent wind, far from the storm.”
⁹ Swallow them up, O Lord.
Confuse their speech,
for I see violence and contention in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they sneak around on its walls.
Evil and trouble are in the city.
¹¹ Destruction lurks within it.
Treachery and deceit never leave its streets.
¹² For it is not an enemy who insults me—
I could bear that.
It is not someone who hated me who rises up against me—
I could hide from him.
¹³ But it is you, a man who served with me,
    my colleague and my associate,
¹⁴     with whom I shared pleasant discussions
    as we walked with the excited crowd at God’s house.

¹⁵ Let deadly destruction come on them.
Let them go down to the grave alive,
because evil is at home in their hearts.

¹⁶ As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
¹⁷ Evening, morning, and noon I cry out and I sigh,
and he hears my voice.
¹⁸ In peace he redeems my life from the assault against me,
    even when many are against me.
¹⁹ God will hear, and he will punish them— Interlude
yes, he is seated on his throne from eternity!
—because they never change, and they do not fear God.

²⁰ The traitor reaches out his hand against those at peace with him.
He breaks his agreement.^[d]
21 His flattery is as smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart.
His words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn daggers.

²² Place your burden on the Lord,
and he will support you.
He will never allow the righteous to fall.
²³ But you, O God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction.
Bloody and deceitful men will not live half their days.
But as for me, I will trust in you.