Psalm 53:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

NIV: For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David. 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.

NASB: The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good.

CSB: The fool says in his heart, "There's no God." They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good.

NLT: Only fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!

KJV: {To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.} 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.

NKJV: {To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A Contemplation of David.} 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.

Use of the term "fool" here does not necessarily mean a person is unintelligent. Rather, it means that this particular choice is irrational, unwise, or ridiculous. Jesus told a story about a rich farmer whose land produced abundant crops. He decided to build bigger barns to accommodate the bumper crops, and he told his soul to take life easy. "Relax, eat, drink, be merry," he said to his soul (Luke 12:19). He may have been a smart and capable farmer, but God called him a fool because he valued material possessions instead of God. God said to him: "Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" (Luke 12:20).

It is because the fool rejects God that his life is corrupt and his iniquity is abominable. Without the admission that God exists, the fool does not respect God's laws, so he leads a lawless life. His life is sinful and lacks any moral goodness. Worse, denial of God's existence leads to the assumption that humanity is free to define right and wrong according to their own preferences. That eventually leads to a "might makes right" approach that excuses atrocities.

Whoever denies God is sure to worship a false god. Some fools worship themselves or a celebrity or wealth or fame.

David's worshipful song points out the recklessness and evil of denying the existence of God. That attitude leads to evil, but God also notes that the entire human race has chosen to ignore Him and go their own way. Those who oppose God will, eventually, be thoroughly defeated by God's holiness. The psalm ends with David's prayer for the salvation and restoration of Israel.

This brief collection of verses is arranged for use in music or worship. It is similar to Psalm 14 and is quoted in part in Romans 3. Here David depicts the human race as evil and incapable of producing any truly good deeds in God's sight. David, the psalmist, longs for the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. When the kingdom arrives, there will be great joy. Ephesians 2:1–3 also portrays humanity as spiritually evil, and Isaiah 12 also describes the kingdom as a time of great joy.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.