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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 53

Psalm 53: the fool's heart, God looking down and the scattered bones

General context

The psalm says the fool has said in his heart that there is no God; they are corrupt, have done abominable iniquity, and none does good. God looked down from heaven on the children of men to see if any understood or sought God. Every one of them has gone back, all together become filthy, none does good, not one. The speaker asks whether the workers of iniquity have no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread and have not called on God. There they were in great fear where no fear was, because God has scattered the bones of the one who camped against you; you have put them to shame because God has despised them. The psalm closes wishing that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion: when God brings back the captivity of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.

Cited passages: Psalms 53:1, Psalms 53:2, Psalms 53:3, Psalms 53:4, Psalms 53:5, Psalms 53:6

Psalms 53 (KJV)

1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

2God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

3Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

4Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

5There 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.

6Oh 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.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The text as printed here carries no heading; verse 1 opens with "The fool hath said in his heart", so this source names no author, occasion or musical direction. The psalm speaks about God in the third person, and "my people" in verse 4 is the one first-person marker; the text does not say whether that "my" is God's or the speaker's. In verse 5 a "thee" and "thou" appear, someone whose enemy encamped and who put them to shame, without saying who is addressed. The psalm closely follows Psalm 14, which opens with the same words, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God", and ends with the same wish, "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!". The chief difference is verse 5: Psalm 14 has "There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous", while this psalm has fear "where no fear was" and scattered bones of an encamping enemy. Psalm 14 says "the Lord" where this psalm says "God". Verse 3's "there is none that doeth good, no, not one" is quoted in the Letter to the Romans: "there is none that doeth good, no, not one".

Cited passages: Psalms 53:1, Psalms 53:4, Psalms 53:5, Psalms 14:1, Psalms 14:7, Psalms 14:5, Psalms 14:2, Psalms 53:2, Romans 3:12

Literary context

The psalm is built on a downward look and a total count. God "looked down from heaven" to find one who seeks him, and the answer is "none", said three times: none that doeth good, none that doeth good, no, not one. The fool's saying is inward, "in his heart", and the wicked's failure is likewise inward, they "have not called upon God". Eating is the image of their violence: they consume people "as they eat bread". The reversal comes in verse 5, where the eaters are seized by fear "where no fear was" and end as scattered bones. The closing verse shifts from the whole of humanity to Israel and Jacob and from statement to wish, "Oh that". Read beside Psalm 14, the poem shows how a small change in one verse turns a general claim about God's presence with the righteous into a picture of an enemy's bones.

Cited passages: Psalms 53:2, Psalms 53:3, Psalms 53:1, Psalms 53:4, Psalms 53:5, Psalms 53:6, Psalms 14:5

Key moments

  1. The fool's heart (Psalms 53:1). The fool says in his heart there is no God, and none does good.
  2. God looks down from heaven (Psalms 53:2). God looks to see whether any understand or seek him.
  3. No, not one (Psalms 53:3). Every one has gone back and become filthy; none does good.
  4. Eating my people like bread (Psalms 53:4). The workers of iniquity devour the people and do not call on God.
  5. Fear where no fear was (Psalms 53:5). God scatters the bones of the one who encamped against you.
  6. Salvation out of Zion (Psalms 53:6). The psalm wishes for Israel's salvation and the return of the captivity.

For reflection

The psalm says none does good, not one, and then speaks of my people being eaten up; how does the poem hold together a verdict on everyone and a plea for a particular people?

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