Psalms 14:1-7

Psalm 14 ¹ 

For the music director; by David.

14:1 Fools say to themselves, ²  “There is no God.” ³ 

They sin and commit evil deeds; ⁴ 

none of them does what is right. ⁵ 

14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven ⁶  at the human race, ⁷ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ⁸  and seeks God. ⁹ 

14:3 Everyone rejects God; ¹⁰ 

they are all morally corrupt. ¹¹ 

None of them does what is right, ¹² 

not even one!

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹³  do not understand – ¹⁴ 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

14:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹⁵ 

for God defends the godly. ¹⁶ 

14:6 You want to humiliate the oppressed, ¹⁷ 

even though ¹⁸  the Lord is their ¹⁹  shelter.

14:7 I wish the deliverance ²⁰  of Israel would come from Zion!

When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, ²¹ 

may Jacob rejoice, ²² 

may Israel be happy! ²³ 

Psalms 92:6

92:6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;

the fool does not understand this. ²⁴ 

Matthew 5:22

5:22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother ²⁵  will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults ²⁶  a brother will be brought before ²⁷  the council, ²⁸  and whoever says ‘Fool’ ²⁹  will be sent ³⁰  to fiery hell. ³¹ 

Luke 12:20

12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ³²  will be demanded back from ³³  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ³⁴ 

[14:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

[14:1]  ² tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

[14:1]  ³ sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

[14:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

[14:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[14:2]  ⁶ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[14:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[14:2]  ⁸ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[14:2]  ⁹ sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[14:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”

[14:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[14:3]  ¹² tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[14:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).

[14:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.

[14:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[14:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame.” Using a second person plural verb form, the psalmist addresses the wicked. Since the context indicates their attempt to harm the godly will be thwarted, the imperfect should be taken in a subjunctive (cf. NASB, NRSV) rather than an indicative manner (cf. NIV). Here it probably expresses their desire or intent (“want to humiliate”).

[14:6]  ¹⁸ tn It is unlikely that כִּי (ki) has a causal force here. The translation assumes a concessive force; another option is to understand an asseverative use (“certainly, indeed”).

[14:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his.” The antecedent of the singular pronoun is the singular form עָנִי (’ani, “oppressed”) in the preceding line. The singular is collective or representative here (and thus translated as plural, “they”).

[14:7]  ²⁰ sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[14:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[14:7]  ²² tn The verb form is jussive.

[14:7]  ²³ tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[92:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[5:22]  ²⁵ tc The majority of mss read the word εἰκῇ (eikh, “without cause”) here after “brother.” This insertion has support from א² D L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy co Ir^lat Or^mss Cyp Cyr. Thus the Western, Caesarean, and Byzantine texttypes all include the word, while the best Alexandrian and some other witnesses (Ì⁶⁴ א* B 1424^mg pc aur vg Or Hier^mss) lack it. The ms evidence favors its exclusion, though there is a remote possibility that εἰκῇ could have been accidentally omitted from these witnesses by way of homoioarcton (the next word, ἔνοχος [enocos, “guilty”], begins with the same letter). An intentional change would likely arise from the desire to qualify “angry,” especially in light of the absolute tone of Jesus’ words. While “without cause” makes good practical sense in this context, and must surely be a true interpretation of Jesus’ meaning (cf. Mark 3:5), it does not commend itself as original.

[5:22]  ²⁶ tn Grk “whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’” an Aramaic word of contempt or abuse meaning “fool” or “empty head.”

[5:22]  ²⁷ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin.”

[5:22]  ²⁹ tn The meaning of the term μωρός (mwros) is somewhat disputed. Most take it to mean, following the Syriac versions, “you fool,” although some have argued that it represents a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew term מוֹרֵה (moreh) “rebel” (Deut 21:18, 20; cf. BDAG 663 s.v. μωρός c).

[5:22]  ³⁰ tn Grk “subjected,” “guilty,” “liable.”

[5:22]  ³¹ tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”

[12:20]  ³² tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ³³ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.