Psalms 14:1–7, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Psalms 14:1–7
Corruption, injustice, and the hope of restoration
A fool's creed, and a gaze from heaven
The fool says in his heart there is no God. The poem is not a clinical label for doubters. It names a practical atheism that corrupts and does abominable work.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of men to see if any understand and seek God. The verdict is communal and severe: gone aside, together become filthy, none that does good. The look is moral, not a permission for contempt.
Eating people like bread, and a longed-for turning of captivity
Workers of iniquity eat up God's people as they eat bread, and they do not call on the LORD. There they are in great fear, because God is with the generation of the righteous. The poor person's counsel is shamed, but the LORD is his refuge.
The closing wish is that Israel's salvation would come out of Zion, that the LORD would restore his people's fortunes, and that Jacob would rejoice. Restoration is hope against devouring injustice, not a sneer at people who struggle to believe.
How this should shape us
Judge the creed that frees a person to devour neighbors. Do not use 'fool' as a slur for the sad, the questioning, or the clinically unwell. Hope toward Zion's rescue of the eaten, not toward scoring points on doubters.
Teach it back
Explain Psalms 14:1–7 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 14 and Book I, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Psalms 14:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 14:1–7
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 14:1–7.
Official NET Bible Psalm 14 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 14:1–7
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 14:1–7
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 14 for Psalms 14:1–7
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 14:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 14:1–7
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 14:1–7.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 14 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 14:1–7
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 14:1–7
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 14 for Psalms 14:1–7
Open NETS Psalms ↗