Read & explore together
The Fool Says There Is No God
Psalm 14 is a song that contrasts people who reject God with people who belong to him. It speaks plainly about corruption, harm, fear, refuge and hope, and it ends by longing for God’s salvation.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
In this psalm, the speaker describes what the fool says, what Yahweh sees from heaven, how wrongdoers treat God’s people, and how God relates to the righteous and the poor. The passage closes with a prayerful wish for Israel’s salvation and restored joy.
Psalms 14:1–7Main takeaway
Psalm 14 teaches that denying God is linked with corruption, while God sees, stands with his people, and is their hope for rescue.
Explore the poem and its images
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01The fool’s claim and its fruitThe psalm begins with an inward statement: “There is no God.” In this passage, that is not presented as cleverness but as foolishness.
Explanation
The psalm begins with an inward statement: “There is no God.” In this passage, that is not presented as cleverness but as foolishness. The result is moral corruption and abominable deeds. The psalm’s language is broad and searching, saying no one does good. This is poetry with strong, weighty words.
02Yahweh looks down and finds noneThe scene then shifts upward. Yahweh looks down from heaven on human beings to see whether any understand and seek after God.
Explanation
The scene then shifts upward. Yahweh looks down from heaven on human beings to see whether any understand and seek after God. The answer is bleak: all have turned aside and become corrupt. The repeated line, “no one who does good”, reinforces the seriousness of the human problem.
03Wrongdoers against God’s peopleThe psalm asks whether workers of iniquity have any knowledge. Their wrongdoing is described as consuming God’s people as casually as eating bread.
Explanation
The psalm asks whether workers of iniquity have any knowledge. Their wrongdoing is described as consuming God’s people as casually as eating bread. Another mark of their guilt is that they do not call on Yahweh. The passage connects evil not only with ideas about God but also with how people treat others.
04Fear, refuge and a future hopeThose who oppose God’s people meet fear, because God is with the generation of the righteous.
Explanation
Those who oppose God’s people meet fear, because God is with the generation of the righteous. The poor may have their plans frustrated by others, yet Yahweh is described as his refuge. The psalm ends by longing for salvation from Zion and for restored fortunes, rejoicing and gladness among God’s people.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01How does Psalm 14 connect what a person says about God with the way they live?
Look at how the fool’s words are followed by descriptions of corruption and deeds in the opening verse.
02What was Yahweh looking for when he looked down from heaven?
Notice the two things named in the psalm: understanding and seeking after God.
03What reasons for hope appear at the end of this psalm?
Trace the words about God being with the righteous, being refuge for the poor, and bringing salvation and restored joy.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Psalms 14:1–7
1The 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.
2Yahweh 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.
4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on Yahweh?
5There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous.
6You frustrate the plan of the poor, because Yahweh is his refuge.
7Oh 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.