Psalm 14 – “No God” vs. “Know God”

Translation by NAW

1. For the concertmaster, belonging to David.

A fool said in his heart, “There is no God!”

They have caused corruption;

they have made [their] exploit[s] abhorrent.

There is no one who does good.

2. As for Yahweh, from the heavens He looked down over the descendents of Adam

to see: “Is there an insightful man, one who seeks God?”

3. The entirety has turned away, together they have become tainted,

there is not one who does good – there is not even one!

4. Haven’t they known –

all the workers of iniquity,

the ones who eat my people [like] they eat bread?

They did not call upon Yahweh.

5. They were dreadfully terrified there, God was in [the] home of a righteous man.

6. The council of the lowly y’all put to shame, because Yahweh was his refuge.

7. If only Israel’s salvation would come into being from Zion!

When Yahweh turns back His people’s captivity, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.

Introduction

“Anything God says once demands attention. Anything He says twice demands our most intent attention. How then if He says something three times?” ~James M. Boice, Psalms, Vol. 1: An Expositional Commentary.

Psalm 14 is repeated almost word-for-word in Psalm 53,
and then again, in Romans 3:10-12, the most important part occurs for a third time.
What is so important about this passage that it should be repeated three times in the Bible? Let’s study it and find out!

Exegesis

1. For the concertmaster, belonging to David. A fool said in his heart, “There is no God!” They have caused corruption; they have made [their] exploit[s] abhorrent. There is no one who does good.

John Dewey and the other signers of the Humanist Manifesto in the 20^th Century stated, “No deity will save us; we must save ourselves... Traditional religions are … obstacles to human progress…” But Christians in every era who have studied Psalm 14 have complained of the atheists of their day,

from Augustine in the fourth century
to Rabbi Rashi in the 11^th century
to John Calvin in the 16^th century
to Spurgeon in the 19^th Century,
all the way to us in the 21^st century.
There have always been atheists who don’t believe in God, or don’t believe in an elohim God that is involved in our world, and certainly don’t believe in the personal Yahweh of the Bible.

The Word of God calls such a person naval “a fool.”

Isaiah (32:6) describes the נָבָל saying, “a [fool] speaks simpleness, and his heart does godless things, to practice tricks and to say foolish things against [Yahweh], to leave the soul of the hungry empty, and to refuse drink to the thirsty.” ~Delitzsch
Now, you might be thinking, “Isn’t that a bit harsh to label all who don’t believe in God ‘fools’? Aren’t some are merely ignorant or mistaken on this point?” The answer is found in Romans 1, which, the late pastor James Boice, said, “is actually a commentary on Psalm 14… If a person knew there were no God and said so, he would be wise… If he did not know and said so, he would at least be an honest skeptic or agnostic. If a person is convinced there is no God when actually there is one, he is merely mistaken. But none of these is the case, according to Paul’s careful exposition. The reason the person is a fool and not merely mistaken is that he knows there is a God and yet chooses to believe and act as if there is none.” Romans 1:18-20 clears the fog by explaining that creation itself reveals God’s eternal power and divine nature and leaves mankind without excuse.
The person who says, “There is no God,” is not an honest thinker but rather a truth-suppressor, and that’s one reason why David doesn’t spend the rest of the Psalm proving the existence of God. Instead he spends the rest of the Psalm talking about rebellion against God and salvation by God.
In the words of one contemporary commentator I read, “This is no simple ignorance, but an act of rebellious rejection of relationship with God.” (Gerald Wilson, NIV Application Commentary^{^[1]})

In the second half of v.1, the verb shakhat “corrupt” connotes a taking an organized system and messing it all up. It’s like these fools are competing to do more and more abominable things!

Shakhat first occurs in the Bible is Genesis 6, where God says that everyone had become corrupt and the earth was filled with violence so bad that God sent the flood to destroy them all.
It is also used to describe God’s action in destroying Sodom & Gomorrah for their sin,
as well as wasting Egypt with the plagues.
So it reminds us that just as surely as unregenerate mankind perverts God’s good order of creation, so surely God will make man’s organized rebellion against Him defunct when He visits in judgment!

As for the next verb Ta’av,

The prophet Elijah used it to describe King Ahab for introducing Canaanite idol-worship in Israel: “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him. He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done... “ 1 Kings 21:25-26, NASB
The word “Iniquity” is in the parallel Psalm 53 as a synonym for “vile/abominable,” as well as in other verses like Job 15:16 "What is man, that he should be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? … [He is] detestable and corrupt [alach – see Ps. 14:3], Man, who drinks iniquity like water!” (NASB)
But God will judge iniquity and abominable behavior, as we saw in Psalm 5:5b-6 “You have hated all workers of iniquity. You will destroy speakers of falsehood; a man of bloodshed and deceit Yahweh will abhor.” (NAW)
Leviticus 18 contains a list of things which are specifically labeled “abominations,” including: incest, adultery, child-sacrifice, homosexuality, bestiality – the kinds of things that the Canaanites practiced and that God found particularly offensive.
Deuteronomy adds to this list that offering something to God which is tainted (17:1 & 23:18) or cross-dressing, or cheating people out of money (Deut. 25:16) or making an idol (Deut. 27:15) is also an abomination.

As my childhood pastor Frank Barker said, “An atheist can’t find God for the same reason that a thief can’t find a policeman…” In our guilt, mankind naturally doesn’t want God to exist because we don’t want to be held accountable to God.

Now, in v.2, the person of God is brought before our eyes as a radical contrast to the godless fool:

2. As for Yahweh^{^[2]}, from the heavens He looked^{^[3]} down over the descendents of Adam to see: “Is there an insightful man, one who seeks God?”

God is pictured as “looking down” from the vantage point of His castle

like King Abimelek in Gen. 26:8,
or Princess Michael in 2 Sam. 6:16,
or Nobleman Arunah in 2 Sam 24:20.
The Perfect tense indicates that God is already on top of what is going on; He has already “seen” the dishonorable conduct of the fool.

This word for “looked down” is also found in the account of God’s actions

regarding Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen. 18:16)
and regarding Egypt at the time of the Exodus (Ex. 14:24),
so it reminds us again that God sees what is going on, and He will hold men accountable when they rebel against Him, just as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah and just as He did with Pharaoh!^{^[4]}

But God is also very interested in knowing who “seeks after” Him.

We’ve seen already in the Psalms that “wicked” people do “not seek” God (Psalm 10:4),
but that God “does not forsake those who seek Him” (Ps 9:10)
This is what is on God’s mind: “Is there someone who is a man after my own heart who has received my word so that he has wisdom? I want to work with that person and bless him/her!”

This maskil - this man with understanding - is one who

is smart and skillfull,
who has insight and wisdom from God into what is going on,
and is therefore successful in what he does.

The Hebrew word contains all three concepts of “smart,” “wise,” and “prosperous.” I can’t think of an English word that is quite like it.

But this is who God is looking for, the person who seeks God and “perceives the falsity of the statement there is no God” (Cohen).

Now, David pulls in the rest of the quote^{^[5]} from Job 15:16 about the total depravity of mankind:

3. The entirety has turned away^{^[6]}, together they have become tainted^{^[7]}, there is not one who does good – there is not even one^{^[8]}!

David’s son said the same thing in Ecclesiastes 7:20 “For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.” (NKJV)

And this comports with the doctrine of the book of Romans, chapter 3, which quotes from Psalm 14 and concludes, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

Now, what does it mean to “do good”? Don’t even atheists do good things?

I believe this “good” refers back to Genesis 1 (vs.12, 25, 31) where “good” is defined as doing what God created things to do and to be.
This idea is further developed in Deuteronomy where “doing… good” is defined as obeying God’s law: Deut. 6:17-18 “You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you… (cf. 12:28, 2Ki. 20:3).
This “doing good” is the opposite of “working iniquity” in v.4.
Later on in Psalm 37, Putting your trust in God is united with “doing good: (37:3 “Trust in the Lord and do good…”)
Thus we read in Romans 4:3 that, “Abraham believed and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
So this is not just talking about bringing canned food to the rodeo to feed the poor – as good as that particular act might be, this is speaking of “good” in terms of following all of God’s commands, including the Ten Commandments and all their ramifications in the law of Moses and in Jesus’ teachings.
When we look at how we measure up to the standard of God’s goodness it should become obvious that David is correct. Nice people are in the same boat on judgment day as mean people because we have all broken God’s laws at some point. We all stand condemned before God.
Our problem, as Psalm 5:4-5 puts it is that the LORD is “not a god [who] inclines toward wickedness, Evil will not be [His] guest… [He has] hated all workers of iniquity” (NAW).
Our only hope is for God to provide a way out of the punishment of death and hell which He has decreed is just for sin. Is there a way out of God’s judgment?

4. Haven’t they known – all the workers of iniquity, the ones who eat my people [like] they eat bread? They did not call upon Yahweh.

Now, the 10 spies in the book of Numbers claimed the promised land would eat people up,
and it may be reasonable to expect that there are pagans in this world who will decimate believers,
but the only other place in the Bible that this phrase about eating people occurs, is in relation to oppressive Jewish leaders in Micah 3:1-4 “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil… Who also eat the flesh of My people... they will cry to the LORD, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds” (NKJV).

The simile of eating bread paints a picture of a person who has hurt so many believers that he doesn’t think of it as any big deal, like you have bread (or some kind of starch) with every meal.^{^[9]} “The meaning is… that… They do not pray as it becomes man who is endowed with mind, therefore they are like cattle, and act like beasts of prey (Hosea 7:7).” (Delitzsch)

Charles Spurgeon commented, “It is hard bondage to be a ‘worker of iniquity;’ a [slave] at the galleys, or in the mines of Siberia, is not more truly degraded and wretched; the toil is hard and the reward dreadful; those who have no knowledge choose such slavery, but those who are taught of God cry to be rescued from it.”

Those who call^{^[10]} upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved, that’s what is says in 1 Corinthians 1:2, and that’s basically what David already said in Psalm 3:4 “[With] my voice, I will call to Yahweh, and He will answer me from the mountain of His holiness” (NAW, cf. 4:3).

This name is also the object of the knowledge of God’s people: Psalm 9:10 “Then those who know Your name will trust in You, for You did not forsake those who were seeking You, Yahweh!”

This, then, is the way out of God’s judgment: not to be among those who do “not know” God and say there is “no God” but to be among those who know the name and character of God as Holy and Savior and who “call upon the Name” of the Lord in order that God may graciously share His holiness and salvation with us! Otherwise a fearful judgment awaits...

5. They were dreadfully terrified there; God was in [the] home of a righteous man.

As I grappled with what this verse means, I realized that the meaning of the word “generation” was what made it fuzzy to me. According to classic Hebrew lexicographers^{^[11]}, the word dor (which us usually translated “generation”) can have about four meanings:

It can be used to mean a lifespan (as in “God is with the righteous for their whole life”);
secondly, it can mean a generation of children (as in “God is with the descendants of the righteous man”)
However, almost all the commentaries I read ran with a third meaning of “a class or type of person,” corresponding to “the righteous” or “the people of God.^{^[12]}
But a fourth meaning of the word, and in fact the primary meaning of the verb form of this word is “dwelling.” This the one that makes the most sense to me. “Dwelling-place” or “home” seems fitting to correspond with the word “There” which starts the verse. In other words, when the wicked arrived at the stomping grounds or family home of the righteous man, God encountered the wicked there and frightened them out of their wits. That’s what I think this verse is saying.
I suppose that it doesn’t matter greatly whether the righteous man was in his home or somewhere else with a company of good guys when the bad guys came after him and God stopped them in their tracks.

Anyway, taken together with the Past tense Hebrew verbs for “they were greatly terrified,” it appears to me that David is referring to some past event.

The commentaries I read were all over the place in terms of what specific happening David was referring to in this verse, but they generally agreed that it refers to the judgment of God in some way^{^[13]}.
Since this psalm uses key words from the historical accounts of Noah’s flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the plagues of the Exodus, I think that one or all of these terrifying events could be what David has in mind.

And yet those who trust in God to save them will not experience the fearful dread that the enemies of God will experience.

Using this same verb for “dread,” the prophet Isaiah wrote, “You will say in that day, ‘I will thank You, Jehovah, For You were angry with me, yet Your anger turned away and you showed compassion to me. Look, God is my salvation; I will trust and will not dread, for Yah Jehovah is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation!’” (Isa. 12:1-2, NAW)
But David continues…

6. The council of the lowly y’all put to shame, because Yahweh was his refuge^{^[14]}.

I think that it is likely that the “righteous” in v. 5 is the same as the “poor/afflicted/humble” here in v.6
and that the “council” in v.6 (also translated “plan” as in “plan of salvation”) is the same as the “refuge,”^{^[15]}
and the “they” in v.5 is the same as the “y’all” in v.6.

In other words, the humble are trusting in God and being defended by God, but the wicked are trying to shame them for taking refuge in God and are still trying to hurt the righteous.

In this case, the two halves of verse 6 are saying the same thing rather than opposite things,
and the Hebrew word ki could be translated according to its more usual meaning of “for/ because” instead of being translated as the conjunction “but.”^{^[16]}
The wicked are trying to embarrass the humble because the humble are seeking refuge in a God the wicked don’t believe in.
The second person subject doing the “shaming/frustrating” is plural, indicating that it’s the pagans who are trying to make the poor blush with shame, the same pagans who say there is no God (v.1), who turn aside from His law (v.3), sin abominably (v.1) and corrupt themselves (v.3), and hurt God’s people (v.4).

· We saw in Psalm 9:2 that’s what the wicked do to the poor (“With arrogance a wicked man hotly-pursues a lowly man.” NAW) but we saw in Psalm 12:5 that this kind of abuse is what arouses God to save the lowly: (“From devastation of lowly ones, from sighing of needy ones, now I will arise,” says Yahweh, “I will put in safety.” NAW)

· In opposition to the council of the lowly to take refuge in God, the wicked give their own council, “There is no God!” That is the “council of the wicked” from Psalm 1:1, and that council will not last forever.

The hope of the poor who trust in God’s salvation will ultimately win out (Ps. 9:18), for, “Blessed are those who take refuge in the LORD!” (Psalm 2:12 cf. 5:11; 7:1; 11:1, etc.)

Now the Psalm ends:

7. If only^{^[17]} Israel’s salvation would come into being from Zion! When Yahweh turns back His people’s captivity, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.

“Jacob” and “Israel” were two names for the same man,

so I think the two phrases are for poetic effect and mean the same thing (Augustine),
although Spurgeon made a plausible point that “Jacob” and “Israel” could represent two stages of following God:

1. “Jacob” could represent believers who are still struggling and wrestling with God,

2. and “Israel” could represent believers who have prevailed and received God’s blessing.

Note the source of Israel’s salvation – it comes from Zion. “[Z]ion was the holy place from which God had promised to hear the prayers of his servants^{^[18]}... He does not, therefore, doubt who would be the author of his salvation; but he asks, with a sorrowful heart, when at length that salvation will come forth which is to be expected from no other source than from God alone.” ~Calvin

I see this as a cry to God to intervene and save the righteous from persecution. It is a cry of faith which knows that it is God’s nature to save his people and that the supplicant is indeed one of God’s people who will be saved.

It is a lot like what David prayed in Psalm 6:4 “Return, Yahweh! Snatch away my soul; save me because of Your lovingkindness.” (NAW)
Isaiah expressed a similar sentiment in 59:20 “And a Redeemer will come for Zion and to those who turn from rebellion in Jacob,” declares Jehovah (NAW).

It is possible that this “restoration of fortune” is in a general sense,

such as when God restored Job’s fortunes (Job 42:10 “And the LORD returned Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.).
Jameison, Fausset & Brown interpreted it this general way in their classic commentary, writing, “captivity — denotes any great evil” (cf. Cohen).
This general interpretation of restoring fortune allows us to apply the truths of this psalm to our own situation today, and I believe that is proper for us to do.

But on the other hand, this phrase “return the captivity” is used most often in the Bible to speak of the Jews’ exile in Babylon:

Back in Deuteronomy 30:1-3, Moses prophecied it using the very words quoted by David, “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you” (NASB).
I have to wonder if this is a prophetic statement by David in which he sees that the idolatry of Israel and the oppressiveness of the Jewish noblemen^{^[19]} will lead to the exile prophecied through Moses, yet David nevertheless hopes in the promise of God to restore captive Israel when, in the further future, they repent of their sin and return to love God with all their heart.

Like David, we too can trust in the faithful, covenantal lovingkindness of God and see salvation in the God who was and is and is coming, when His people repent and reject the council of the wicked and take refuge in Him through faith – in the One whose name means “salvation” – Jesus!

Psalm 13:5 I trust in your lovingkindness, my heart exults in your salvation
Psalm 3:8 “Salvation belongs to the Lord”

Then we will experience the joy of the Lord:

Psalm 9:14 “…I will recount all Your praises within the gates of the daughter of Zion, [and] rejoice in Your salvation” (NAW).

Conclusion

· Well, are you a descendent of Adam, one of the children of men? Then God is looking upon you and asking if you understand and seek Him.

· When the Bible says “all have turned aside, there is no one who does good, not even one,” that includes you.^{^[20]} With words like “all” and “not even one” you can’t point the finger and say God will judge someone else but He won’t judge you. You’re fooling yourself if you think you’re a good enough person. You need the salvation and refuge which God offers to all who call on the name of Jesus and humbly ask for it.

· “With what earnestness should we shun the appearance of doubt as to the presence, activity, power and love of God, for all such mistrust is of the nature of folly, and who among us would wish to be ranked with the fool in the text?” ~Spurgeon

· And then we must cling to that salvation and refuge in Jesus, despite the ridicule and persecution.

o “The special point and butt of their jest seems to be the confidence of the godly in their Lord. ‘What can your God do for you now?’ ‘Who is that God who can deliver out of our hand?’ ‘Where is the reward of all your praying and beseeching?’ Taunting questions of this sort they thrust into the faces of weak but gracious souls, and tempt them to feel ashamed of their refuge. Let us not be laughed out of our confidence by them, let us scorn their scorning and defy their jeers; we shall need to wait but a little, and then the Lord our refuge will avenge his own elect and ease himself of his adversaries, who once made so light of him and of his people.” ~Spurgeon

o and “[I]n the midst of the greatest desolations which we behold in the Church, we may comfort ourselves with this assurance, that God will finally deliver her from them.” ~Calvin

o So, let us persevere in seeking God, for “[T]rue understanding… consists in seeking after God; … unless men devote themselves wholly to God, their life cannot be well ordered… [A]lthough God may leave us for a long time to languish, yet we ought not to weary, or lose courage, but should always glory in Him… while our troubles continue, the most effectual solace we can have is often to return to the exercise of prayer.” ~Calvin

· “Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come!” Rev. 22:20b

Comparative translations

Psalm 14	NAW	Psalm 53 KJV	KJV	NKJV	ESV	NASB	NIV	LXX	Brenton
א לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ לְדָ֫וִ֥ד אָ֘מַ֤ר נָבָ֣ל בְּ֭לִבּוֹ אֵ֣ין אֱלֹהִ֑ים הִֽשְׁחִ֗יתוּ הִֽתְעִ֥יבוּ עֲלִילָ֗ה אֵ֣ין עֹֽשֵׂה־טֽוֹב׃	1. For the concertmaster, belonging to David. A fool said in his heart, “There is no God!” They have caused corruption; they have made [their] exploit[s] abhorrent. There is no one who does good.	53:1 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity (עול): there is none that doeth good.	1 *To the chief Musician, A Psalm* of David.** 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.	1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart,"There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.	1 To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.	1 *For the choir director. A Psalm* of David.** The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.	1 For the director of music. 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.	1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος· ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ. Εἶπεν ἄφρων ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ Οὐκ ἔστιν θεός· διέφθειραν καὶ ἐβδελύχθησαν ἐν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν, οὐκ ἔστιν ποιῶν χρηστότητα, [οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός.]	1 For the end, Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted themselves, and become abominable in their devices; there is none that does goodness, [there is not even so much as one.]
ב יְֽהוָ֗ה מִשָּׁמַיִם֮ הִשְׁקִ֪יף עַֽל־בְּנֵי־אָ֫דָ֥ם לִ֭רְאוֹת הֲיֵ֣שׁ מַשְׂכִּ֑יל דֹּ֝רֵשׁ אֶת־אֱלֹהִֽים׃׃	2. As for Yahweh, from the heavens He looked down over the descendents of Adam to see - Is there an insightful man, one who seeks God?	53:2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.	2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.	2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.	2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.	2 The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.	2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.	2 κύριος ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ διέκυψεν ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀν θρώπων τοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰ ἔστιν συνίων ἢ ἐκζητῶν τὸν θεόν.	2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that understood, or sought after god.
ג הַכֹּ֥ל סָר֮ יַחְדָּ֪ו נֶ֫אֱלָ֥חוּ אֵ֤ין עֹֽשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב אֵ֝֗ין גַּם־אֶחָֽד׃	3. The entirety has turned away, together they have become tainted, there is not one who does good – there is not even one!	53:3 Every one of them (כלו) is gone back (סג): they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.	3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.	3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.	3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.	3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.	3 All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.	3 πάντες ἐξέκλιναν, ἅμα ἠχρεώθησαν, οὐκ ἔστιν ποιῶν χρηστότητα, οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός. (τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν, ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν· ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν, ὧν τὸ στόμα ἀρᾶς καὶ πικρίας γέμει· ὀξεῖς οἱ πόδες αὐτῶν ἐκχέαι αἷμα· σύντριμμα καὶ ταλαιπωρία ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν, καὶ ὁδὸν εἰρήνης οὐκ ἔγνωσαν· οὐκ ἔστιν φόβος θεοῦ ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν.)	3 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become good for nothing, there is none that does good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.
ד הֲלֹ֥א יָדְעוּ֮ כָּל־פֹּ֪עֲלֵ֫י אָ֥וֶן אֹכְלֵ֣י עַ֭מִּי אָ֣כְלוּ לֶ֑חֶם יְ֝הוָ֗ה לֹ֣א קָרָֽאוּ׃	4. Haven’t they known - all the workers of iniquity, the ones who eat my people [like] they eat bread? They did not call upon Yahweh.	53:4 Have the workers of iniquity no know~~ledge~~? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.	4 Have all the workers of iniquity no know~~ledge~~? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.	4 Have all the workers of iniquity no know~~ledge~~, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the LORD?	4 Have they no know~~ledge~~, all the ~~evildoers~~ who eat up my people [as] they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?	4 Do all the workers of ~~wickedness~~ not know, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon the Lord?	4 Will ~~evildoers~~ ~~never learn~~— those who devour my people [as men] eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?	4 οὐχὶ γνώ~~σονται~~ (a vowel change can make yad’u into a future, thus also Symmac. and Targums) πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν; οἱ κατεσθίοντες τὸν λαόν μου βρώσει ἄρτου τὸν κύριον οὐκ ἐπεκαλέσαντο.	4 Will not all the workers of iniquity know, who eat up my people as they would eat bread? they have not called upon the Lord.
ה שָׁ֤ם׀ פָּ֣חֲדוּ פָ֑חַד כִּֽי־אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים בְּד֣וֹר צַדִּֽיק׃	5. They were dreadfully terrified there, God was in [the] ancestral-home of a righteous man.	53:5 There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered (פזר) the bones (עצמות) of him that encampeth against thee (חנך): .	5 There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.	5 There they ~~are~~ in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous.	5 There they ~~are~~ in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.	5 There they ~~are~~ in great dread, For God is with the righteous generation.	5 There they ~~are~~, overwhelmed with dread, for God is [present] in the ~~company~~ of the righteous.	5 ἐκεῖ ἐδειλίασαν φόβῳ, [οὗ οὐκ ἦν φόβος – matching 53:6], ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἐν γενεᾷ δικαίᾳ.	5 There were they alarmed with fear, [where there was no fear]; for God is in the righteous generation.
ו עֲצַת־עָנִ֥י תָבִ֑ישׁוּ כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה מַחְסֵֽהוּ׃	6. The council of the lowly y’all put to shame, for Yahweh is his refuge.	thou hast put them to shame (הבשׁתה) X, because God hath despised them (מאסם).	6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.	6 You shame the counsel of the poor, But the LORD is his refuge.	6 You [would] shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.	6 You [would] put to shame the counsel of the afflicted, But the LORD is his refuge.	6 You [evildoers] frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.	6 βουλὴν πτωχοῦ κατῃσχύνατε, ὅτι κύριος ~~ἐλπὶς~~ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν.	6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his hope.
ז מִ֥י יִתֵּ֣ן מִצִּיּוֹן֮ יְשׁוּעַ֪ת יִשְׂרָ֫אֵ֥ל בְּשׁ֣וּב יְ֭הוָה שְׁב֣וּת עַמּ֑וֹ יָגֵ֥ל יַ֝עֲקֹ֗ב יִשְׂמַ֥ח יִשְׂרָֽאֵל׃	7. If only Israel’s salvation would come into being from Zion! When Yahweh turns back His people’s captivity, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.	53:6 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	7 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.	7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD brings back [the] captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.	7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores [the] fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.	7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.	7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores [the] fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!	7 τίς δώσει ἐκ Σιων τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Ισραηλ; ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι κύριον [τὴν] αἰχμαλωσίαν τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀγαλλιάσθω Ιακωβ καὶ εὐφρανθήτω Ισραηλ.	7 Who will bring the salvation of Israel out of Sion? when the Lord brings back the captivity of his people, let Jacob exult, and Israel be glad.

^{^[1]} While there is much good scholarship in it, I have some reservations about this commentary because of its soft-peddaling of Marxism (e.g. “…we often fail to acknowledge the many ways our abundant lifestyle is founded on the exploitation of the ‘two-thirds’ world who have so little.” –p.294) and its assumption that these Psalms are not David’s compositions as originally written but have been changed over the years.

^{^[2]} Ps. 53 substitutes elohim “God” for Yahweh “the LORD” here and in vs. 4 & 7, but this does not change the meaning.

^{^[3]} The Hiphil stem of shaqaf here does not have particular significance since it does not appear in the Qal stem.

^{^[4]} “Just as הִשְׁהִיתוּ reminds one of the history of the Flood, so does לִרְאֹות of the history of the building of the tower of Babel, Gen. 11:5” ~Delitzsch

^{^[5]} This is what I assume, since it’s the only other place in the Bible besides Psalm 53 that this verb “become filthy/ corrupt” appears.

^{^[6]} The text of Ps. 53:3 means the same thing but uses slightly different wording: “Every one of them (כלו) is gone back (סג)”

^{^[7]} The Niphal stem does not appear to have special meaning because the verb is not used in Qal stem. Many commentators pick up on the aspect of its meaning “to go sour,” but Cohen preferred “tainted.”

^{^[8]} The additional text in the Septuagint and Vulgate was not found by Jerome in the Hebrew texts of his day, according to Augustine’s editor. It is all found in other locations in the Bible (Ps. v. 10, cxl. 3, x. 7, xxxvi. 1; from Prov. i. 16 and Isa. lix. 7), so it is bona fide scripture, just questionable whether it originally was located in this psalm. Deitzsch writes of probable sources: “They appear as an integral part of it in the Cod. Alex., in the Greco-Latin Psalterium Vernonense, and in the Syriac Psalterium Mediolanense. They are also found in Apollinaris' paraphrase of the Psalms as a later interpolation; the Cod. Vat. has them in the margin; and the words σύντπιμμα καὶ ταλαιπωρία ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν have found admittance in the translation, which is more Rabbinical than Old Hebrew, מַזָּל רַע וּפֶגַע רַע בְּדַרְכֵיהֶם even in a Hebrew codex (Kennicott 649). Origen rightly excluded this apostolic Mosaic work of Old Testament testimonies from his text of the Psalm; and the true representation of the matter is to be found in Jerome, in the preface to the xvi. book of his commentary on Isaiah.”

^{^[9]} Cf. Augustine “every day,” Spurgeon “daily, ravenously,” Kimchi “with apparent ease,” and G.H.Wilson “casual attitude.”

^{^[10]} “[T]he phrase, calling upon God, as it constitutes the principal exercise of godliness, it includes by synecdoche… the whole of the service of God.” ~Calvin

^{^[11]} Strong and Brown-Driver-Briggs. Davidson also to some extent.

^{^[12]} viz Delitzsch, “They are so called inasmuch as דֹּור passes over from the signification generatio to that of genus hominum here and also elsewhere, when it is not merely a temporal, but a moral notion.” Spurgeon spoke of the “union… between God and His people” and equated the “generation” with “God’s people.” Cohen: “the class of persons who may be designated righteous,” so also G. Wilson.

^{^[13]} Delitzsch: “The local demonstrative שָׁם is used as temporal in this passage… ‘there = then,’ when God shall thus speak to them in His anger.” Spurgeon: “There - where they denied God and hectored against his people; there - where they thought of peace and safety”

Augustine, on the other hand quotes John 11:48 and refers this event to the fear of the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day of losing their status and wealth, which is why they denied the deity of Jesus. He continues this interpretation into v. 6, “ye have despised the humble coming of the Son of God, because ye saw not in Him the pomp of the world: that they, whom he was calling should put their hope in God alone, not in the things that pass away.” Augustine then interpreted v.7 of Christ, translating “mi yittein” literally, as the LXX also did, “who will deliver salvation?”

Calvin took another position: “…I rather think that by this word there is expressed the certainty of their punishment… when their affairs are in a state of the greatest tranquillity and prosperity, God will suddenly launch against them the bolts of his vengeance“ For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them (1 Thess. 5:3).”

Boice took yet another position, claiming that since Psalm 53 adds “where no fear was” that “there” is ‘an inner psychological dread.” However, Boice’s position ignores the rest of the wording differences in Psalm 53 which seem rather to describe a specific place where “God scattered (פזר) the bones (עצמות) of the one who encamped against you (חנך)”.

For what it’s worth, the Jewish editor of the Soncino commentaries, Cohen, supports my locative interpretation of “there,” “in whatever place God manifests His judgment…”

^{^[14]} Interestingly, this causal clause is very different in Psalm 53: “because God despised them (מאסם)”

^{^[15]} Calvin, Delitzsch, Cohen, and Spurgeon agree. G.Wilson, on the other hand shows his semi-Marxism by framing it as the rich oppressing the poor.

^{^[16]} Delitzsch also preferred “because.”

^{^[17]} The phrase mi yittein which opens v.7 seems to be a figure of speech in Hebrew, for although it literally means “who will give,” (which is the LXX translation and Calvin’s), it is translated in the sense of “if only” in most English Bibles all of the 17 times it occurs in the Hebrew Bible. (Exodus 16:3; Deuteronomy 5:29; 28:67; 2 Samuel 18:33; Job 6:8; 11:5; 13:5; 14:4,13; 19:23; 23:3; 31:31,35; Psalms 14:7; 53:6; 55:6; Jeremiah 9:1)

^{^[18]} G. Wilson offers the following proof texts for this: Ps. 74:2, 76:2, 132:13, 135:21, 9:11, 84:7, 110:2, 99:2, 149:2, 128:5, 133:3, 134:3, 50:2, 14:7, 20:2, 53:6

^{^[19]} While the Jewish commentators naturally assume the converse, Calvin wrote, “the structure of the psalm very clearly shows that David means rather the domestic tyrants and enemies of the faithful than foreign ones.” Calvin, however, refers it to the time of Saul. Augustine also wrote that it speaks of Jews, not Gentiles, and Dr. Cleveland Coxe, who translated Augustine’s works for the Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers Compilation, called this verse, “A prophetic prolepsis of the Captivity; but stretching forward to the final restoration…” Delitzsch added, “What the psalmist says, applies primarily to Israel, his immediate neighbours, but at the same time to the heathen, as is self-evident. What is lamented is neither the pseudo-Israelitish corruption in particular, nor that of the heathen, but the universal corruption of man…” Gerald Wilson, on the other hand suggests that verse 7 was not prophetic but rather was added later during the Babylonian exile and referred particularly to the longing of the Jewish exiles.

^{^[20]} “The judgment is inclusive, including you and me as well as those at whom we are wont to point the finger” ~G.Wilson