Psalms 14:1-6

1 ¹The ²fool says in his heart, ³"There is no God." They are ⁴corrupt, they do abominable deeds, ⁵there is none who does good.

2 The LORD ⁶looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand,^[a] who ⁷seek after God.

3 They have all turned aside; together they have become ⁸corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

4 Have they no ⁹knowledge, all the evildoers who ¹⁰eat up my people as they eat bread and ¹¹do not call upon the LORD?

5 There they are in great terror, for God is with ¹²the generation of the righteous.

6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but^[b] the LORD is his ¹³refuge.

Psalms 14:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, [a Psalm] of David. The argument of this psalm, according to Theodoret, is Sennacherib's invasion of Judea, when he sent Rabshakeh to Hezekiah, with menaces and curses; upon which Hezekiah implored divine help, and obtained it, and the Assyrian army was destroyed by an angel; of all which he thinks this psalm was prophetic.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 1-7, see Psalms 53:1-6
• 2. Psalms 74:18, 22; Job 2:10
• 3. Psalms 10:4
• 4. Gen. 6:5, 11, 12
• 5. Cited Romans 3:10-12
• 6. Psalms 102:19; [Psalms 11:4]
• 7. 2 Chronicles 15:2; 2 Chronicles 19:3
• 8. Job 15:16
• 9. Psalms 82:5; [Isaiah 1:3; Jeremiah 4:22]
• 10. Proverbs 30:14; Jeremiah 10:25; Hosea 7:7; [Psalms 27:2; Amos 8:4; Micah 3:3]
• 11. Psalms 79:6; Jeremiah 10:25; Hosea 7:7; [Isaiah 64:7]
• 12. Psalms 24:6; Psalms 73:15
• 13. Psalms 46:1; Psalms 61:3; Psalms 62:7, 8; Psalms 91:2; Psalms 142:5

Footnotes

• [a]. Or that act wisely
• [b]. Or for