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Psalm 14:1
For the Chief Musician. By David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.
1For the Chief Musician. By David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.
2The LORD looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God.
3They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one.
Notice
The fool’s claim begins in the heart, then the verse turns to corrupt deeds and a verdict on goodness that leaves no room for superiority.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What changes in your reading when the fool’s words are spoken in the heart?
Write on thisHow does the closing sentence challenge the distance you might put between yourself and the fool?
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Psalm 14:3They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one.Both verses declare that no one does good, and verse 3 repeats the charge of corruption with an explicit emphasis on everyone.
Psalm 10:4The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.Both describe an inward rejection of God, expressed through the fool’s heart in Psalm 14 and the wicked person’s thoughts in Psalm 10.
Psalm 53:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Mahalath.” A contemplation by David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done …Both repeat the fool’s denial of God in the heart, followed by corruption, abominable conduct, and the absence of anyone doing good.
Romans 3:10–12As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.Both make a sweeping judgment about human goodness: no one does good in the psalm, and no one is righteous in Romans.
Romans 1:21–32Because knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, and didn’t give thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.Both connect a refusal to acknowledge God with an inward disorder, describing corruption in the psalm and a darkened heart in Romans.
Psalm 92:6A senseless man doesn’t know, neither does a fool understand this:Both speak of a fool; Psalm 14 names the heart’s denial of God, while Psalm 92 states the fool’s lack of understanding.
Ephesians 2:1–3You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins,Both describe human evil in stark terms: corruption and abominable deeds in the psalm, death in transgressions and sins in Ephesians.
Matthew 12:34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.Both connect the heart with speech and evil: the fool speaks within the heart, and Jesus says speech comes from the heart’s abundance.
Proverbs 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.Both associate foolishness with rejection: the fool denies God in the psalm, and the foolish despise wisdom and instruction in Proverbs.
Genesis 6:5The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.Both describe widespread human evil and attend to the heart, where the psalm locates denial and Genesis locates evil thoughts.
Matthew 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.Both connect the heart with evil conduct; Matthew names specific sins that come from it, while the psalm speaks of abominable deeds.
Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’Both name a fool, though the psalm describes denial of God and Luke describes a life ending under God’s authority.
Where this verse fits
Guilt and confession. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
These are hard words to take to heart. The judgment reaches beyond one fool: “There is no one who does good.”
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).