Psalms 14 (WEB)

Chapter Text

14:1 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.

14:2 Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God.

14:3 They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one.

14:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on Yahweh?

14:5 There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous.

14:6 You frustrate the plan of the poor, because Yahweh is his refuge.

14:7 Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fool", "said", "heart", "corrupt", "done", "abominable", "deeds", and "does". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fool" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local WEB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "fool" and "said" carries the first interpretive weight. In The LORD as Shepherd, the local focus is trust, covenant mercy, guidance, and worship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fool" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.