Psalm 53
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
Psalm 53, David and Abigail, in Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1185)
Other name	Psalm 52 "Dixit insipiens in corde suo non est deus"
Text	Attributed to King David
Language	Hebrew (original)

Psalm 53
← Psalm 52 Psalm 54 →
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 53 is the 53rd 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 slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 52. In Latin, it is known as "Dixit insipiens in corde suo non est deus",^[1] It is described as a maskil or "contemplation of David".^[2]

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant liturgies.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

The following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 53:^[3]

Verse	Hebrew
1	.לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל-מָחֲלַת, מַשְׂכִּיל לְדָוִד
2	;אָמַר נָבָל בְּלִבּוֹ, אֵין אֱלֹהִים .הִשְׁחִיתוּ, וְהִתְעִיבוּ עָוֶל—אֵין עֹשֵׂה-טוֹב
3	:אֱלֹהִים—מִשָּׁמַיִם, הִשְׁקִיף עַל-בְּנֵי-אָדָם .לִרְאוֹת, הֲיֵשׁ מַשְׂכִּיל—דֹּרֵשׁ, אֶת-אֱלֹהִים
4	.כֻּלּוֹ סָג, יַחְדָּו נֶאֱלָחוּ: אֵין עֹשֵׂה-טוֹב; אֵין, גַּם-אֶחָד
5	.הֲלֹא יָדְעוּ, פֹּעֲלֵי-אָוֶן: אֹכְלֵי עַמִּי, אָכְלוּ לֶחֶם; אֱלֹהִים, לֹא קָרָאוּ
6	:שָׁם, פָּחֲדוּ פַחַד—לֹא-הָיָה-פָחַד .כִּי-אֱלֹהִים—פִּזַּר, עַצְמוֹת חֹנָךְ; הֱבִשֹׁתָה, כִּי-אֱלֹהִים מְאָסָם
7	:מִי יִתֵּן מִצִּיּוֹן, יְשֻׁעוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל .בְּשׁוּב אֱלֹהִים, שְׁבוּת עַמּוֹ; יָגֵל יַעֲקֹב, יִשְׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל

King James Version

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.
God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Content

This psalm is the Elohistic Psalter's (Pss. 42–83) version of Psalm 14,^[4] and nearly identical to it. The medieval exegete Rashi understood Psalm 14 to refer to the destruction of the First Temple; this version, he thought, refers to the destruction of the Second Temple.^[5] Modern interpreters, following Hermann Gunkel's form criticism, classify this psalm as a lament.^[6]

There are two differences between Psalms 14 and 53, the name of God used being the first. Psalm 14 uses the covenant name of God, YHWH, typical of the Psalms in book 1 of Psalms (Psalms 1 through 41). Psalm 53 uses Elohim, typical of the Psalms in Book 2 (Psalms 42 through 72). Second, there is reference to "a refuge for the poor" in Psalm 14:6, which is missing from Psalm 53.

Uses

New Testament

In the New Testament, verses 1–3 are quoted by Paul in Romans 3:10–12,^[7] where he argues that Jews and Gentiles are equally in need of God's grace. Since this Psalm and Psalm 14 are nearly identical, it is difficult to tell which one is quoted.

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the tenth day of the month.^[8]

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 53 in a metred version in German, "Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl", SWV 150, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628.