Psalms 14:1

For the music director; by David. Fools say to themselves, ²  “There is no God.” ³  They sin and commit evil deeds; ⁴  none of them does what is right. ⁵ 

Ge 6:5,11,12; 1Sa 25:25; Job 15:16; Job 22:13; Ps 10:4; Ps 36:1-4; Ps 52:1-6; Ps 73:3; Ps 92:6; Ps 94:4-8; Ps 107:17; Pr 1:7,22; Pr 13:19; Pr 27:22; Isa 1:4; Mt 12:34; Mt 15:19; Lu 12:20; Joh 3:19,20; Ro 1:21-32; Ro 1:28; Ro 3:10-12; Eph 2:1-3; Eph 2:12; Tit 1:16; Tit 3:3; Re 21:8

¹ sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

² tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

³ sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

⁴ tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

⁵ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”