Psalms 53:1

Psalms 53:1 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.

Context of Psalms 53:1

A fool thinks that there is no God. People like that are bad. They do evil things. None of them does anything that is good. 2God looks down from heaven at the people on earth. He wants to see if there is anyone who is really wise and who wants to know God. 3But they have all turned away. They have all become evil. Nobody does anything that is good, not even one person.

Psalms 53:1 word by word

אָ֘מַ֤ר נָבָ֣ל בְּ֭לִבּוֹ אֵ֣ין אֱלֹהִ֑ים הִֽ֝שְׁחִ֗יתוּ וְהִֽתְעִ֥יבוּ עָ֝֗וֶל אֵ֣ין עֹֽשֵׂה־טֽוֹב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The foolנָבָלnâbâl · foolishH5036
• hath saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• in his heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• no Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• Corruptשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
• are they, and have done abominableתַּעָבtâ‛ab · to abhorH8581
• iniquityעָ֫וֶל‛evel ‛âvel ‛avlâh ‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · injusticeH5766
• none that doethעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• goodטוֹבţôb · goodH2896

Cross-references for Psalms 53:1

• Psalms 88:1Lord, you are the God who rescues me. I call out to you in the day, and I pray for help at night.
• Psalms 14:1Only fools say to themselves, ‘There is no God.’ People like that do bad and evil things. None of them do things that are good and right.
• Psalms 92:6Here is something that stupid people do not know. Fools do not understand it.
• Matthew 5:22But what I now say to you is this: Anybody who is angry with his brother will have to stand in front of a judge. Or someone might call his brother by a bad name. Then he will have to stand in front of the Jewish leaders. They will judge him. But someone may say to his brother, “You are a fool.” God will judge that person. God may punish him in the fires of hell.
• Luke 12:20But then God said to the man, “You are a fool! Tonight you will die. You will have to leave everything behind that you have stored. Somebody else will have them, but you will not!” ’
• Psalms 10:4Wicked people are too proud to worry about God. They think, ‘God will not give me any trouble.’
• 1 Kings 12:26Jeroboam thought, ‘I do not want the people of my kingdom to accept David's descendants as king again.
• Romans 1:21Those people really knew about God. But they did not respect him as a great God, and they did not thank him. They did not even think clearly any more. Their minds became confused and they did not understand God's message.
• Genesis 6:5The Lord saw that men and women on the earth had become very bad. They thought only of evil things all the time.
• Job 14:4People are not clean and pure. Nobody can change them to become pure.
• Job 15:16So he certainly will not trust people. People are wicked and cannot think true thoughts. They like to do evil things, as if they are drinking water!
• Leviticus 18:24Do not do any of these things. They would make you unclean. The people who live in Canaan do these things. It made them unclean. God will send those people out of their country.
• Deuteronomy 12:31No! You must not worship the Lord your God in the same way that those people worship their gods. When they worship, they do wicked things that the Lord hates. They even burn their children with fire, to make sacrifices to their gods.
• 1 Kings 14:24In Judah there were even temples which had male prostitutes. The people of Judah did the same evil things as the Canaanite nations did. The Lord had chased those people out of the land so that the Israelites could live there.
• Ezekiel 16:47You lived like them and you did all the same disgusting things that they did. But you quickly became even worse than them.
• Ephesians 5:12People like that should be ashamed of the things that they do secretly. Those things are too bad for us even to talk about.

Commentaries on Psalms 53:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The fool hath said in his heart - The whole of this Psalm, except a few inconsiderable differences, is the same as the fourteenth; and, therefore, the same notes and analysis may be applied to it; or, by referring to the fourteenth, the reader will find the subject of it amply explained. I shall add a few short notes. Have done abominable iniquity - Instead of עול avel, evil or iniquity, eight of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. have עלילה alilah, work…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The fool hath said in his heart … - For the meaning of this verse, see the notes at Psalm 14:1. The only change in this verse - a change which does not affect the sense - is the substitution of the word “iniquity,” in Psalm 53:1-6, for “works,” in Psalm 14:1-7.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The corruption of man by nature. --This psalm is almost the same as the 14th. The scope of it is to convince us of our sins. God, by the psalmist, here shows us how bad we are, and proves this by his own certain knowledge. He speaks terror to persecutors, the worst of sinners. He speaks encouragement to God's persecuted people. How comes it that men are so bad? Because there is no fear of God before their eyes. Men's bad practices flow from their bad…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Paul uses the Greek translation of this passage to describe the moral corruption of all people (Romans 3:10–12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-61-4. with few verbal changes, correspond with Psa 14:1-4.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 53:1

• Atheism
• Depravity of Man
• Fool
• Infidelity
• Music
• Skepticism
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Mahalath Maschil
• Music, Instrumental
• Psalms
• Fool; Folly
• Mahalath
• Psalms, Book of
• Song
• Maschil

Commentaries on Psalms 53

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• The Treasury of David
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings