Psalm 53 is included in today’s Daily Office readings. It is almost exactly the same as Psalm 14, which is included in this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary, except for the penultimate verse(s). The text of Psalm 14 is included below, from the Book of Common Prayer translation.
Bread
They eat up my people like bread,
kneading and wheedling them,
seeking to get a rise out of them,
baking them and slicing them.
They eat up my people like bread,
stealing them in desperate times,
stuffing them into their children’s mouths
to quiet their hungry cries.
They eat up my people like bread,
morsels divided, dissolving on the tongue,
washed down with wine;
there is none who does good; not one.
They eat up my people like bread;
they crumble them between their hands,
throw them to the birds,
dust them off with a brisk slap.
They eat up my people like bread,
ask for more, day by day,
and I, the fool, feed them;
I find I cannot turn away.
Psalm 14 Dixit insipiens
1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” All are corrupt and commit abominable acts; there is none who does any good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon us all, to see if there is any who is wise, if there is one who seeks after God.
3 Every one has proved faithless; all alike have turned bad; there is none who does good; no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers who eat up my people like bread and do not call upon the Lord?
5 See how they tremble with fear, because God is in the company of the righteous.
6 Their aim is to confound the plans of the afflicted, but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come out of Zion! when the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.
And after One Lousy Sales Pitch, Psalm 14 (~53) gets an ad selling hydrofracturing North Dakota shale! There’s a great Sense of Humor somewhere.
Fracking ads! There’s a statement. Maybe when the domain renews I’ll upgrade to ad-free (on the other hand, I do appreciate irony…)