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 abominableworks, there is none that doethgood.
2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seekGod.
3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doethgood, no, not one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eatbread, and call not upon the LORD.
5 There were they in greatfear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.
6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
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.
World Behind This Chapter
Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Psalms 14.
QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING
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Why does Psalm 14 have a close parallel in Psalm 53?
The two poems share much of their wording but differ in divine names and several details. Their coexistence gives readers a rare window into reuse and adaptation within the Psalter.
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What stands out about the fool in Psalm 14?
Psalm 14 builds its movement around the fool, social corruption, and God's search for understanding. Tracking repeated words, parallel lines, changes of speaker, and image clusters shows how the poem develops before assigning a later interpretation.
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What world does Psalm 14 ask the reader to picture?
The poem evokes corrupt society under divine scrutiny. Those settings may be literal, remembered, ritual, or metaphorical; distinguishing those possibilities is part of reading Hebrew poetry carefully.
⌘Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter3
Bilingual Hebrew-English text for Psalm 14, including the fool, corruption, divine searching, evildoers, the poor, refuge, and hope for Zion’s restoration.
Shows how Psalm 14 connects with related biblical texts about foolishness, righteousness, corruption, divine searching, and the poor. Useful for tracing Psalm 14’s wisdom themes and later reuse.
Introduces wisdom psalms and specifically lists Psalm 14 as a wisdom psalm. Useful for reading the psalm’s reflection on fools, corruption, the righteous, the poor, and the fate of evildoers.
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