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Psalm 53:5
There they were in great fear, where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.
3Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one.
4Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on God?
5There they were in great fear, where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.
6Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Notice
Scattered bones make the defeat of those attacking God’s people stark, confronting the reader with the deadly weight of God’s rejection.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do the scattered bones suggest about the strength of those encamped against God’s people?
Write on thisHow does verse 4 shape your reading of the fear described here?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.Both texts describe wrongdoers overtaken by fear even where an immediate cause for alarm is absent.
Leviticus 26:36“‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will put them to …Both texts connect overwhelming fear with God’s action, describing terror where no pursuing threat is present.
Isaiah 8:12“Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.Both passages concern fear, though Isaiah commands people against terror while the psalm describes terror overtaking attackers.
Psalm 2:4He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.Both passages portray humiliation before God: shame and rejection in Psalm 53, derision in Psalm 2.
Psalm 141:7“As when one plows and breaks up the earth, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.”Scattered bones appear in both psalms, though Psalm 53 describes an attacker’s bones and Psalm 141 speaks of the speakers’ own.
Psalm 83:16–17Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, LORD.Both passages speak of disgrace, though Psalm 83 asks that confusion lead people to seek God’s name.
Jeremiah 6:30Men will call them rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.”Both passages state that God has rejected the people described, linking their disgrace to his judgment.
Ezekiel 6:5I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols. I will scatter your bones around your altars.In both texts God scatters human bones, a stark image of death under his judgment.
Leviticus 26:17I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you.Both texts connect God’s opposition with defeat and fear, including alarm without an active pursuer.
Jeremiah 8:1–2“At that time,” says the LORD, “they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, …Both passages depict human bones left exposed, though Jeremiah describes removal from graves and the psalm describes scattering.
1 Samuel 14:15There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so there was an …Both passages describe great fear in a military setting, with an encampment in the psalm and trembling troops in Samuel.
Genesis 50:15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did …Both passages show fear among people who have done evil, though Joseph’s brothers voice a feared repayment rather than God’s rejection.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. fear for the future. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The violence here is severe. Those who devour God’s people face his judgment; their camp has no strength that can shield them from his rejection.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).