Psalms — Chapter 53
aCf. Psalm 14. For the leader; on mahalath.bmahalath Meaning of Heb. unknown. A maskil of David.
The scoundrel thinks,“God does not care.”cGod does not care Lit. “There is no God”; cf. 10.4. Mortals’dMortals’ Heb. “Their.” wrongdoing is corrupt and loathsome;no one does good.
God looks down from heaven on humankindto find someone with understanding,someone mindful of God.
Everyone is dross,altogether foul;there is no one who does good,not even one.
Are they so witless, those evildoers,who devour my people as they devour food,and do not invoke God?
There they will be seized with fright—never was there such a fright—for God has scattered the bones of your besiegers;you have put them to shame,enever was there … put them to shame Meaning of Heb. uncertain. for God has rejected them.
O that the deliverance of Israel might come from Zion!When God restores the fortunes of this covenanted people,Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Path to Wisdom
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”