| Psalm 14 | |
|---|---|
| "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." | |
 Martin Luther's singable version of the 14th Psalm, "Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl", in the 1524 Erfurt Enchiridion | |
| Other name |
|
| Language | Hebrew (original) |
| Psalm 14 | |
|---|---|
← Psalm 13 Psalm 15 → | |
| Book | Book of Psalms |
| Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 1 |
| Category | Sifrei Emet |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 19 |
Psalm 14 is the 14th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is psalm 13 in a slightly different numbering, "Dixit insipiens in corde suo".[1] Its authorship is traditionally assigned to King David.[2] With minor differences, it is nearly identical in content with Psalm 53.[3] Hermann Gunkel dates the psalm to the exile period.[4]
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been paraphrased in hymns such as Luther's "Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl".
The following table shows the Hebrew text[5][6] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
| Verse | Hebrew | English translation (JPS 1917) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ לְדָ֫וִ֥ד אָ֘מַ֤ר נָבָ֣ל בְּ֭לִבּוֹ אֵ֣ין אֱלֹהִ֑ים הִֽשְׁחִ֗יתוּ הִֽתְעִ֥יבוּ עֲלִילָ֗ה אֵ֣ין עֹֽשֵׂה־טֽוֹב׃ | For the Leader. [A Psalm] of David. The fool hath said in his heart: 'There is no God'; they have dealt corruptly, they have done abominably; there is none that doeth good. |
| 2 | יְֽהֹוָ֗ה מִשָּׁמַיִם֮ הִשְׁקִ֢יף עַֽל־בְּנֵי־אָ֫דָ֥ם לִ֭רְאוֹת הֲיֵ֣שׁ מַשְׂכִּ֑יל דֹּ֝רֵ֗שׁ אֶת־אֱלֹהִֽים׃ | The LORD looked forth from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any man of understanding, that did seek after God. |
| 3 | הַכֹּ֥ל סָר֮ יַחְדָּ֢ו נֶ֫אֱלָ֥חוּ אֵ֤ין עֹֽשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב אֵ֝֗ין גַּם־אֶחָֽד׃ | They are all corrupt, they are together become impure; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. |
| 4 | הֲלֹ֥א יָדְעוּ֮ כׇּל־פֹּ֢עֲלֵ֫י אָ֥וֶן אֹכְלֵ֣י עַ֭מִּי אָ֣כְלוּ לֶ֑חֶם יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה לֹ֣א קָרָֽאוּ׃ | ’Shall not all the workers of iniquity know it, who eat up My people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD?' |
| 5 | שָׁ֤ם ׀ פָּ֣חֲדוּ פָ֑חַד כִּֽי־אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים בְּד֣וֹר צַדִּֽיק׃ | There are they in great fear; for God is with the righteous generation. |
| 6 | עֲצַת־עָנִ֥י תָבִ֑ישׁוּ כִּ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה מַחְסֵֽהוּ׃ | Ye would put to shame the counsel of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge. |
| 7 | מִ֥י יִתֵּ֣ן מִצִּיּוֹן֮ יְשׁוּעַ֢ת יִשְׂרָ֫אֵ֥ל בְּשׁ֣וּב יְ֭הֹוָה שְׁב֣וּת עַמּ֑וֹ יָגֵ֥ל יַ֝עֲקֹ֗ב יִשְׂמַ֥ח יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD turneth the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. |
In 1763, in Britain, a version of the King James Bible was published that had a very noticeable misprint in the first verse of Psalm 14 which completely reversed the meaning of that verse. The misprint changed the start of the verse to "The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God" instead of "no God". The printers involved were fined £3,000 (a large sum of money at the time) for the mistake and all copies of the misprinted bible were ordered destroyed.[7]
There is an additional passage after verse 3 which is present in the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and one Hebrew manuscript,[8] but missing from the Masoretic text and from Psalm 53. The passage (and verses 2 and 3) is quoted in full in Romans 3:13-18, taken from the Septuagint.[9] The Hebrew of this passage, including verse 3, reads:[10]
| Hebrew | English |
|---|---|
|
הַכֹּל סָר יַחְדָּו נֶאֱלָחוּ |
They are all gone aside, they are together become filthy. |
David is telling the audience that it is foolish to not believe in God. The opening statement says, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." In the Bible when something or someone is referenced to being "foolish", this means that this person is "someone who disregards God's word".[citation needed] He refers to them as corrupt and does work that is hateful when it says "abominable". David is making it clear that without God, man cannot do any good because we have a sinful nature. One who does not believe in God, is susceptible to hatefulness and corrupt behavior.
According to some Christian exegesis, David begins to reference the return of Christ to retrieve his people. When he discusses the salvation of Israel and bringing them out of captivity, he is saying that the Lord will bring the ones who call on his name and are his believers to safety, away from the dominion of sin on the earth.[11][12]
Some verses of Psalm 14 are referenced in the New Testament. Verses 1c, 2b, 3 are quoted in Romans 3:10–12[13]
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 14 is appointed to be read on the evening of the second day of the month.[14]
Martin Luther paraphrased Psalm 14 in a hymn in German "Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl" in 1524, one of the eight songs in the first Lutheran hymnal, Achtliederbuch. Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of this text, SWV 110, as part of the Becker Psalter.
