Psalms 14 · Verse 1

Psalms 14:1

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.

Psalms 14:1, King James Version

Psalms 14:1 in other translations

BSB	For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.
WEB	For the Chief Musician. By David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.
ASV	For 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.
YLT	To the Overseer. --By David. A fool hath said in his heart, ‘God is not;' They have done corruptly, They have done abominable actions, There is not a doer of good.
DARBY	To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted themselves, they have done abominable works: there is none that doeth good.
BBE	The foolish man has said in his heart, God will not do anything. They are unclean, they have done evil works; there is not one who does good.
Webster	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.

What does Psalms 14:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Psa 14:1-7. The practical atheism and total and universal depravity of the wicked, with their hatred to the good, are set forth. Yet, as they dread God's judgments when He vindicates His people, the Psalmist prays for His delivering power.

1. Sinners are termed "fools," because they think and act contrary to right reason (Ge 34:7; Jos 7:15; Psa 39:8; 74:18, 22). in his heart--to himself (Ge 6:12).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

The sentiments of atheists and deists, who deny the doctrine of a Divine providence. Their character: they are corrupt, foolish, abominable, and cruel, Psa 14:1-4. God fills them with terror, Psa 14:5; reproaches them for their oppression of the poor, Psa 14:6. The psalmist prays for the restoration of Israel, Psa 14:7. There is nothing particular in the title; only it is probable that the word לדוד ledavid, of David, is improperly prefixed, as it is sufficiently evident, from the construction of the Psalm, that it speaks of the Babylonish captivity. The author, whoever he was, (some say Haggai, others Daniel, etc)., probably lived beyond the Euphrates. He describes here, in fervid colors, the iniquity of the Chaldeans. He predicts their terror and destruction; he consoles himself with the prospect of a speedy return from his exile; and hopes soon to witness the reunion of the tribes of Israel and Judah. It may be applied to unbelievers in general. Verse 1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God - נבל nabal, which we render fool, signifies an empty fellow, a contemptible person, a villain. One who has a muddy head and an unclean heart; and, in his darkness and folly, says in his heart, "There is no God." "And none," says one, "but a fool would say so." The word is not to be taken in the strict sense in which we use the term atheist, that is, one who denies the being of a God, or confounds him with matter. 1. There have been some, not many, who have denied the existence of God. 2. There are others who, without absolutely denying the Divine existence, deny his providence; that is, they acknowledge a Being of infinite power, etc., but give him nothing to do, and no world to govern. 3. There are others, and they are very numerous, who, while they profess to acknowledge both, deny them in their heart, and live as if they were persuaded there was no God either to punish or reward. They are corrupt - They are in a state of putrescence and they have done abominable works - the corruption of their hearts extends itself through all the actions of their lives. They are a plague of the most deadly kind; propagate nothing but destruction; and, like their father the devil, spread far and wide the contagion of sin and death. Not one of them does good. He cannot, for he has no Divine influence, and he denies that such can be received.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

A description of the depravity of human nature, and the deplorable corruption of a great part of mankind. --The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. The sinner here described is an atheist, one that saith there is no Judge or Governor of the world, no Providence ruling over the affairs of men. He says this in his heart. He cannot satisfy himself that there is none, but wishes there were none, and pleases himself that it is possible there may be none; he is willing to think there is none. This sinner is a fool; he is simple and unwise, and this is evidence of it: he is wicked and profane, and this is the cause. The word of God is a discerner of these thoughts. No man will say, There is no God, till he is so hardened in sin, that it is become his interest that there should be none to call him to an account. The disease of sin has infected the whole race of mankind. They are all gone aside, there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Whatever good is in any of the children of men, or is done by them, it is not of themselves, it is God's work in them. They are gone aside from the right way of their duty, the way that leads to happiness, and are turned into the paths of the destroyer. Let us lament the corruption of our nature, and see what need we have of the grace of God: let us not marvel that we are told we must be born again. And we must not rest in any thing short of union with Christ, and a new creation to holiness by his Spirit. The psalmist endeavours to convince sinners of the evil and danger of their way, while they think themselves very wise, and good, and safe. Their wickedness is described. Those that care not for God's people, for God's poor, care not for God himself. People run into all manner of wickedness, because they do not call upon God for his grace. What good can be expected from those that live without prayer? But those that will not fear God, may be made to fear at the shaking of a leaf. All our knowledge of the depravity of human nature should endear to us salvation out of Zion. But in heaven alone shall the whole company of the redeemed rejoice fully, and for evermore. The world is bad; oh that the Messiah would come and change its character! There is universal corruption; oh for the times of reformation! The triumphs of Zion's King will be the joys of Zion's children. The second coming of Christ, finally to do away the dominion of sin and Satan, will be the completing of this salvation, which is the hope, and will be the joy of every Israelite indeed. With this assurance we should comfort ourselves and one another, under the sins of sinners and sufferings of saints.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Psalms 14:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אָ֘מַ֤ר'a.Marhe saysH559

נָבָ֣לna.Vala foolH5036

בְּ֭לִבּוֹbe.li.boin heart hisH3820

אֵ֣ין'einthere notH369

אֱלֹהִ֑ים'E.lo.Him[is] a godH430

הִֽשְׁחִ֗יתוּhish.Chi.tuthey act corruptlyH7843

הִֽתְעִ֥יבוּhit.'I.vuthey do abominablyH8581

עֲלִילָ֗ה'a.li.Lahdeed[s]H5949

אֵ֣ין'einthere notH369

עֹֽשֵׂה\־'o.seh-[is one who] doesH6213

טֽוֹב\׃Tov<of> goodH2896

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 14:1

Psalms 10:4
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
Psalms 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: there is none that doeth good.
Romans 3:10-12
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Romans 1:21-32
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: …
Psalms 92:6
A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
Ephesians 2:1-3
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Matthew 12:34
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Genesis 6:5
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Luke 12:20
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Titus 3:3
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1 David describes a natural man.
4 He convinces the wicked by the light of their conscience.
7 He glories in the salvation of God.

fool.
73:3; 92:6; 107:17; 1Sa 25:25; Pr 1:7,22; 13:19; 27:22; Lu 12:20
no.
10:4; *marg:
52:1-6; Job 22:13; Ro 1:28; Eph 2:12
They are.
36:1-4; 94:4-8; Ge 6:5,11,12; Isa 1:4
abominable.
Job 15:16; Mt 12:34; 15:19; Joh 3:19,20; Ro 1:21-32; Tit 1:16; 3:3
Re 21:8
there.
Ro 3:10-12; Eph 2:1-3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Psalms 14:1
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.
Psalms 14:2
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

Read all of Psalms 14

Psalms 14:1 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Al Músico principal: Salmo de David. DIJO el necio en su corazón: No hay Dios. Corrompiéronse, hicieron obras abominables; no hay quien haga bien.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Au chef de musique. De David. L’insensé a dit en son cœur: Il n’y a point de Dieu. Ils se sont corrompus, ils ont rendu abominables leurs actions; il n’y a personne qui fasse le bien.
German Elberfelder 1871	Der Tor spricht in seinem Herzen: Es ist kein Gott! Sie haben verderbt gehandelt, sie haben abscheulich getan; da ist keiner, der Gutes tue.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Psalmus David. Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo? aut quis requiescet in monte sancto tuo?