Psalms 53:1 Overview & Translations

Translations

F.O.G.MPrimary

F.O.G Message

For the music director. Set to Mahalath. A contemplative psalm of David. The godless fool declares in his heart, 'There is no God.' Corrupt to the core, they wallow in abominable evil — not one of them does what is good.

F.O.GSecondary

The F.O.G

For the director of music. Upon machalath. A maskil of David. The nabal says in his heart, 'There is no Elohim.' They have acted corruptly, committing vile iniquity; not one does good.

KJV

King James Version

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.

BSB

Berean Standard Bible

For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good.

Footnotes

The superscription contains two uncertain terms. Machalath appears also in Psalm 88's heading; it may denote a wind instrument, a melody name, or derive from machala ('illness/affliction'), suggesting use in times of communal lament. Maskil (from sakal, 'to be wise/prudent/discerning') marks this as a contemplative, instructive composition — one requiring active engagement rather than passive reception. FOG retains both terms untranslated to preserve their ambiguity; FOG Message renders maskil as 'contemplative psalm' for modern accessibility. The term nabal denotes not mere intellectual foolishness but morally corrosive, godless churlishness — the archetype being Nabal of Carmel (1 Sam. 25), whose very name became synonymous with defiant moral bankruptcy. His declaration 'There is no Elohim' is not philosophical atheism but practical defiance: a life lived as though God neither sees nor acts. Psalm 53 is a near-duplicate of Psalm 14 but substitutes Elohim consistently for YHWH, placing it within the so-called 'Elohistic Psalter' (Pss. 42–83), a collection that systematically favours the generic divine name — a liturgical or editorial distinction whose full significance remains debated.

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Psalms 53:1

Translations

Footnotes

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Psalms Chapter 53