Psalms / Chapter 53

Psalms 53

7 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

A near-duplicate of Psalm 14, this wisdom psalm indicts universal human corruption. The 'fool' (naval) declares there is no God — not as philosophical atheism but as practical denial that God sees or acts. God looks down from heaven and finds no one doing good. The psalm ends with a cry for salvation from Zion.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Psalm 53 is almost identical to Psalm 14, with two significant differences: Psalm 53 uses Elohim ('God') where Psalm 14 uses YHWH ('the LORD'), and verse 6 diverges significantly from Psalm 14:5-6. The existence of both versions in the Psalter suggests they circulated in different liturgical collections — one associated with the divine name YHWH (Psalms 1-41, the 'Yahwistic Psalter') and one with Elohim (Psalms 42-83, the 'Elohistic Psalter'). The editorial history is itself a witness to how living communities adapted and reused sacred texts for different worship contexts. The psalm's most devastating claim is not that some people are wicked but that 'there is no one who does good — not even one' (v. 4). This is not an observation about a particular group but a verdict on the human condition. Paul quotes this psalm in Romans 3:10-12 to establish universal human sinfulness.

Translation Friction

The word naval ('fool') in verse 2 does not mean intellectually stupid. In Hebrew wisdom literature, the naval is the person who is morally dense — who acts as if actions have no consequences and God has no interest in human behavior. Nabal, the husband of Abigail (1 Samuel 25), is the narrative illustration: his name means 'fool,' and his behavior confirms it. The psalm's 'atheism' is practical, not theoretical — the fool lives as if God is absent, regardless of what they might formally believe.

Connections

Nearly identical to Psalm 14, which belongs to the first book of the Psalter (Psalms 1-41). Paul quotes from this psalm tradition extensively in Romans 3:10-18. The 'looking down from heaven' motif echoes Genesis 11:5 (God descending to see Babel) and Genesis 18:21 (God going down to investigate Sodom). The cry for salvation from Zion (v. 7) connects to the Zion theology of Psalms 46, 48, and 76.

Psalms 53:1

לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ עַל־מָחֲלַ֗ת מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לְדָוִֽד׃

For the director of music. According to Machalath. A maskil of David.

KJV To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Machalath may refer to a melody, a musical instrument, or a mode of performance. Some derive it from chalah ('to be sick, to suffer'), suggesting a mournful or lamenting tone. Others connect it to machol ('dance'). The term appears only here and in Psalm 88. Its exact meaning is lost.
Psalms 53:2

אָ֘מַ֤ר נָבָ֣ל בְּ֭לִבּ֗וֹ אֵ֣ין אֱלֹהִ֑ים הִ֗שְׁחִ֤יתוּ וְהִתְעִ֥יבוּ עָ֝֗וֶל אֵ֣ין עֹֽשֵׂה־טֽוֹב׃

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they commit vile injustice; there is no one who does good.

KJV The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

נָבָל naval
"fool" — fool, senseless person, morally bankrupt person, boor

The naval is the wisdom tradition's most dangerous figure — not ignorant but morally defiant. The word connotes willful disregard for God and contempt for others. Nabal in 1 Samuel 25 is the narrative embodiment: wealthy, powerful, and utterly foolish.

Translator Notes

  1. naval does not describe intellectual capacity but moral orientation. The naval in Proverbs and the wisdom tradition is the person who refuses to align their life with reality as God has structured it. They may be shrewd and successful — but they are fools because they act as if the moral order does not apply to them.
  2. Psalm 53:2 differs from Psalm 14:1 in using hit'ivu avel ('they commit vile injustice') instead of Psalm 14's hit'ivu alilah ('they commit vile deeds'). The substitution of avel ('injustice, wrong') for alilah ('deeds, practices') sharpens the accusation toward systemic injustice.
Psalms 53:3

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

God looks down from heaven upon the children of humanity, to see if there is anyone who has insight, anyone who seeks God.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Psalm 53:3 uses mi-shamayim ('from heaven') where Psalm 14:2 uses mi-shamayim as well, but Psalm 53 uses Elohim throughout where Psalm 14 uses YHWH. This Elohistic editing is characteristic of Psalms 42-83.
Psalms 53:4

כֻּלּ֥וֹ סָג֮ יַחְדָּ֢ו נֶ֫אֱלָ֥חוּ אֵ֤ין עֹֽשֵׂה־ט֗וֹב אֵ֣ין גַּם־אֶחָֽד׃

All of them have turned away; together they have become foul. There is no one who does good — not even one.

KJV Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul's quotation of this passage in Romans 3:10-12 uses it to establish that both Jews and Gentiles stand under the same verdict of universal sinfulness. The psalm's original context may be more limited — describing a particular corrupt generation — but its language is absolute enough to sustain the universal application Paul gives it.
  2. ne'elachu is unique to this psalm (Psalm 14:3 uses ne'elachu as well). The root may be related to alach, suggesting souring or going rancid — an image of organic decay applied to moral condition.
Psalms 53:5

הֲלֹ֥א יָ֘דְע֤וּ ׀ פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָ֗וֶן אֹכְלֵ֣י עַ֭מִּי אָ֣כְלוּ לֶ֑חֶם אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לֹ֣א קָרָֽאוּ׃

Do the workers of wickedness not know — those who eat my people as they eat bread? They do not call on God.

KJV Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The bread-eating metaphor for oppression appears also in Micah 3:2-3, where rulers 'eat the flesh of my people' and 'strip their skin from them.' The image emphasizes the routine, unreflective nature of exploitation — it is as ordinary to the oppressor as a daily meal.
Psalms 53:6

שָׁ֤ם ׀ פָּחֲד֣וּ פַחַד֮ לֹא־הָ֢יָה פָ֫חַ֥ד כִּֽי־אֱלֹהִ֗ים פִּ֭זַּר עַצְמ֣וֹת חֹנָ֑ךְ הֱ֝בִ֗שֹׁתָה כִּֽי־אֱלֹהִ֥ים מְאָסָֽם׃

There they are — seized by terror where there was no terror! For God scatters the bones of those who besiege you; you put them to shame, because God has rejected them.

KJV There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This verse is the primary textual difference between Psalms 14 and 53. Psalm 14:5-6 reads: 'There they are in great dread, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.' Psalm 53:6 replaces this with a military scene of divine judgment. The difference suggests the two psalms were adapted for different historical situations.
  2. pizar atsmot ('scatters bones') is violent imagery — in the ancient Near East, the scattering of bones meant complete destruction with no possibility of burial, the ultimate dishonor.
Psalms 53:7

מִ֥י יִתֵּ֣ן מִצִּיּוֹן֮ יְשֻׁעֹ֢ת יִשְׂרָ֫אֵ֥ל בְּשׁ֣וּב אֱ֭לֹהִים שְׁב֣וּת עַמּ֑וֹ יָגֵ֥ל יַ֝עֲקֹ֗ב יִשְׂמַ֥ח יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Who will give salvation to Israel from Zion? When God 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 God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. shevut (or shivat) ammo is debated — it can mean 'captivity of his people' or 'fortunes of his people.' The root shuv suggests a restoration or reversal of condition. In exilic and post-exilic contexts it naturally refers to return from Babylon, but the idiom is broader: God will undo what has gone wrong.
  2. The double naming — Jacob and Israel — uses both the personal and national names of the patriarch to encompass the full identity of God's people. Rejoicing and gladness are the expected response to divine deliverance throughout the Psalter.
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