Psalms / Chapter 14

Psalms 14

7 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

A wisdom psalm that begins with the fool's declaration — 'There is no God' — and then surveys the resulting moral catastrophe. The LORD looks down from heaven to see if anyone acts wisely, and the verdict is universal: all have turned aside, all are corrupt, no one does good. The psalm names the wicked as those who 'devour my people like bread' and who shame the counsel of the poor. It ends with a longing cry for salvation to come from Zion.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The fool's statement — 'there is no God' (ein Elohim) — is not philosophical atheism in the modern sense. The naval ('fool') is not making a metaphysical argument but a practical one: God is not present, God does not see, God will not act. This is functional atheism — living as though God's moral governance does not apply. The psalm's response is to describe God doing exactly what the fool denies: looking down (hishqif), observing (lir'ot), examining whether anyone seeks God (doresh et Elohim). The irony is precise: the fool says God is absent, and at that very moment God is watching the fool. The universal verdict — 'all have turned aside, together they are corrupt' (hakkol sar yachdav ne'elachu) — will be quoted by Paul in Romans 3:10-12 as evidence of universal human sinfulness.

Translation Friction

Verse 4 suddenly narrows from universal corruption to a specific accusation: 'those who devour my people as they eat bread.' The shift from 'all have turned aside' to 'those who devour my people' introduces a distinction the psalm seemed to deny — if all are corrupt, who are 'my people' being devoured? The phrase ammi ('my people') likely represents God's voice (as in a prophetic oracle) or the psalmist speaking as God's representative. The tension between universal corruption and the existence of an identifiable righteous remnant (the poor in v. 6, the generation of the righteous in v. 5) runs through the entire psalm without resolution.

Connections

Psalm 53 is a near-duplicate of Psalm 14 with minor variations, including the substitution of Elohim for YHVH — evidence that the psalm circulated in two traditions. Paul's quotation in Romans 3:10-18 draws from the Greek Septuagint version, which expands the indictment significantly. The phrase 'salvation out of Zion' (yeshu'at Yisrael mi-Tsiyyon) connects to Psalm 53:6, Isaiah 59:20 ('A redeemer will come to Zion'), and Romans 11:26. The image of God looking down from heaven appears also in Psalm 33:13-14 and Genesis 11:5 (the Tower of Babel).

Psalms 14:1

לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ לְדָ֫וִ֥ד אָ֘מַ֤ר נָבָ֣ל בְּ֭לִבּוֹ אֵ֣ין אֱלֹהִ֑ים הִֽשְׁחִ֗יתוּ הִתְעִ֥יבוּ עֲלִילָ֗ה אֵ֣ין עֹֽשֵׂה־טֽוֹב׃

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

KJV The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

נָבָל naval
"fool" — fool, senseless person, morally obtuse, one who disregards God and social bonds

naval describes moral rather than intellectual failure. The naval is someone who knows better but refuses to act accordingly — who treats others with contempt because he has internally dismissed the moral order. The word carries connotations of disgrace and social corrosion.

Translator Notes

  1. naval does not mean 'fool' in the sense of intellectual deficiency. It describes a person who is morally senseless — who refuses to reckon with reality as it actually is. Nabal in 1 Samuel 25 is the narrative embodiment of this concept: a wealthy man who acts as though generosity and justice do not apply to him.
  2. The plural 'they are corrupt' follows the singular 'the fool says' — the psalm moves from one fool's inner conviction to its social consequences. One person's functional atheism becomes a civilization's moral collapse.
Psalms 14:2

יְֽהוָ֗ה מִשָּׁמַיִם֮ הִשְׁקִ֢יף עַֽל־בְּנֵ֫י אָדָ֥ם לִ֭רְאוֹת הֲיֵ֣שׁ מַשְׂכִּ֑יל דֹּ֝רֵ֗שׁ אֶת־אֱלֹהִֽים׃

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of humanity to see if there is anyone who acts wisely, anyone who seeks God.

KJV The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb darash ('to seek, inquire, investigate') implies effort and intentionality. Seeking God is not passive — it requires turning one's attention, inquiry, and desire toward God. The absence of seekers is as damning as the absence of doers.
Psalms 14:3

הַכֹּ֥ל סָר֮ יַחְדָּ֢ו נֶ֫אֱלָ֥חוּ אֵ֤ין עֹשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב אֵ֝֗ין גַּם־אֶחָֽד׃

All have turned aside; together they have become corrupt. There is no one who does good — not even one.

KJV They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 3:12, using it to establish universal human sinfulness before introducing justification by faith. In its original context, the psalm's universal indictment exists in tension with the 'generation of the righteous' mentioned in verse 5 — the psalm seems to both deny and assume the existence of a faithful remnant.
Psalms 14:4

הֲלֹ֥א יָדְע֗וּ כׇּל־פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן אֹכְלֵ֥י עַ֝מִּ֗י אָ֣כְלוּ לֶ֑חֶם יְ֝הוָ֗ה לֹ֣א קָרָֽאוּ׃

Do they not know, all these workers of evil — those who devour my people as they eat bread, who do not call on the LORD?

KJV Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אָוֶן aven
"evil" — iniquity, wickedness, trouble, sorrow, emptiness, deception

aven carries a dual sense of moral evil and the emptiness or futility it produces. Workers of aven are people whose labor produces nothing but destruction — their effort is real, but its fruit is ruin.

Translator Notes

  1. The transition from 'all have turned aside' (universal) to 'those who devour my people' (specific) implies a distinction within the universal corruption. The 'my people' language suggests a prophetic voice — God speaking through the psalmist about those who prey on the poor and faithful.
Psalms 14:5

שָׁ֤ם ׀ פָּ֣חֲדוּ פָ֑חַד כִּֽי־אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים בְּד֣וֹר צַדִּֽיק׃

There they are — utterly terrified! For God is with the generation of the righteous.

KJV There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase dor tsaddiq ('generation of the righteous') introduces a category that seems to contradict the universal corruption of verse 3. This tension is not resolved within the psalm — it reflects the biblical pattern of universal judgment coexisting with a faithful remnant.
Psalms 14:6

עֲצַ֣ת עָנִ֣י תָבִ֑ישׁוּ כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה מַחְסֵֽהוּ׃

You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

KJV Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The shift to second person ('you would shame') makes the accusation direct and personal. The 'counsel' or 'plan' (etsah) of the poor likely refers to their trust in God — the wicked mock the poor for relying on a God who seems absent. The psalm's reply: the LORD is machsehu ('his refuge') — the same shelter-language used in Psalm 11:1.
Psalms 14:7

מִ֥י יִתֵּ֣ן מִצִּיּוֹן֮ יְשׁוּעַ֢ת יִשְׂרָ֫אֵ֥ל בְּשׁ֣וּב יְ֭הוָה שְׁב֣וּת עַמּ֑וֹ יָגֵ֥ל יַ֝עֲקֹ֗ב יִשְׂמַ֥ח יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

KJV Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

יְשׁוּעָה yeshu'ah
"salvation" — salvation, deliverance, rescue, victory

Here yeshu'ah refers not to personal rescue but to national deliverance — the salvation of Israel as a people. The cry for salvation from Zion locates God's saving action in the place where his presence dwells among his people.

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase shuv shevut (or shivat) is debated: does it mean 'restore fortunes' (from shuv, 'to return') or 'return captivity' (from shavah, 'to take captive')? Both meanings work theologically — God either restores what was lost or brings back those who were taken away. The broader sense of total restoration is likely intended.
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