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Psalm 53

Psa. 53:1 KJV (With Strong’s)

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1
<<To the chief Musician
natsach (Hebrew #5329)
properly, to glitter from afar, i.e. to be eminent (as a superintendent, especially of the Temple services and its music); also (as denominative from 5331), to be permanent
KJV usage: excel, chief musician (singer), oversee(-r), set forward.
Pronounce: naw-tsakh'
Origin: a primitive root
upon Mahalath
machalath (Hebrew #4257)
sickness; Machalath, probably the title (initial word) of a popular song
KJV usage: Mahalath.
Pronounce: makh-al-ath'
Origin: from 2470
, Maschil
maskiyl (Hebrew #4905)
instructive, i.e. a didactic poem
KJV usage: Maschil.
Pronounce: mas-keel'
Origin: from 7919
, A Psalm of David
David (Hebrew #1732)
Daviyd {daw-veed'}; from the same as 1730; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse
KJV usage: David.
Pronounce: daw-veed'
Origin: rarely (fully)
.>> Theq fool
nabal (Hebrew #5036)
stupid; wicked (especially impious)
KJV usage: fool(-ish, -ish man, -ish woman), vile person.
Pronounce: naw-bawl'
Origin: from 5034
hath said
'amar (Hebrew #559)
to say (used with great latitude)
KJV usage: answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.
Pronounce: aw-mar'
Origin: a primitive root
in his heart
leb (Hebrew #3820)
the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything
KJV usage: + care for, comfortably, consent, X considered, courag(-eous), friend(-ly), ((broken-), (hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart((-ed)), X heed, X I, kindly, midst, mind(-ed), X regard((-ed)), X themselves, X unawares, understanding, X well, willingly, wisdom.
Pronounce: labe
Origin: a form of 3824
, There is no God
'elohiym (Hebrew #430)
gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
KJV usage: angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.
Pronounce: el-o-heem'
Origin: plural of 433
. Corrupt
shachath (Hebrew #7843)
to decay, i.e. (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively)
KJV usage: batter, cast off, corrupt(-er, thing), destroy(-er, -uction), lose, mar, perish, spill, spoiler, X utterly, waste(-r).
Pronounce: shaw-khath'
Origin: a primitive root
r are they, and have donet abominable
ta`ab (Hebrew #8581)
to loathe, i.e. (morally) detest
KJV usage: (make to be) abhor(-red), (be, commit more, do) abominable(-y), X utterly.
Pronounce: taw-ab'
Origin: a primitive root
iniquity
`evel (Hebrew #5766)
and (feminine) lavlah {av-law'}; or owlah {o-law'}; or .olah {o-law'}; from 5765; (moral) evil
KJV usage: iniquity, perverseness, unjust(-ly), unrighteousness(-ly); wicked(-ness).
Pronounce: eh'-vel
Origin: or lavel {aw'-vel}
: there is none that doeth
`asah (Hebrew #6213)
to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application (as follows)
KJV usage: accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, X certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal (with), deck, + displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in) execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, + feast, (fight-)ing man, + finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, + hinder, hold ((a feast)), X indeed, + be industrious, + journey, keep, labour, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, + officer, pare, bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, X sacrifice, serve, set, shew, X sin, spend, X surely, take, X thoroughly, trim, X very, + vex, be (warr-)ior, work(-man), yield, use.
Pronounce: aw-saw'
Origin: a primitive root
good
towb (Hebrew #2896)
good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well)
KJV usage: beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, -liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ((-favoured)).
Pronounce: tobe
Origin: from 2895
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q
Psa. 14:1• 1To the chief musician, by David.{HR}The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.{HR}They have acted corruptly, they have acted abominably [in] work;{HR}There is none doing good. (Psa. 14:1)
,etc.
r
Gen. 6:5,10• 5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man [was] great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually .
 10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Gen. 6:5,10)
t
Eph. 5:12• 12for the things in secret done by them it is shameful even to speak of, (Eph. 5:12)

More on:

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David,
God,
Heart,
Mahalath,
Maschil,
Music; Musicians; Musical Instruments,
Psalms

Cross References

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Ministry on This Verse

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1-3:  David describes the corruption of a natural man.
4-5:  He convinces the wicked by the light of their own conscience.
6:  He glories in the salvation of God.
A.M. cir. 3464.
B.C. cir. 540.
(Title.)
Mahalath.
Psa. 88:1• 1A song, a psalm, for the sons of Korah. To the chief musician upon Mahalath and Leannoth; an instruction of Heman the Ezrahite.{HR}O Jehovah, God of my salvation,{HR}[By] day have I cried,{HR}And in the night before thee. (Psa. 88:1)
;
Psa. 88•  (Psa. 88)
:*title
fool.
Psa. 14:1‑7• 1To the chief musician, by David.{HR}The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.{HR}They have acted corruptly, they have acted abominably [in] work;{HR}There is none doing good.
 2Jehovah hath looked down from heaven upon the sons of men{HR}To see if there were [one] acting wisely, seeking God.
 3They all have turned aside, they have together been corrupted;{HR}There is none doing good, there is not even one.
 4Have they not known, all [the] workers of iniquity,{HR}Eating my people [as] they have eaten bread?{HR}Jehovah they have not called upon.
 5There have they greatly feared;{HR}For God [is] in the generation of the righteous.
 6Ye put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,{HR}Because Jehovah [is] his refuge.
 7Who shall give out of Zion the salvation of Israel?{HR}When Jehovah bringeth back the captivity of his people,{HR}Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad. (Psa. 14:1‑7)
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Psa. 92:6• 6A brutish man knoweth not,{HR}And a fool doth not understand this. (Psa. 92:6)
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Matt. 5:22• 22But I say to you, that everyone that is [lightly] angry with his brother shall be subject to the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be subject to the council; and whosoever shall say, Fool, shall be subject to the hell of fire. (Matt. 5:22)
;
Luke 12:20• 20But God said unto him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared? (Luke 12:20)
said.
Psa. 10:4,6,11,13• 4The wicked [man] according to the pride of his anger seeketh not;{HR}All his thoughts [are], There is no God.
 6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved;{HR}To generation and generation [I am] he which shall not [be] in any evil.
 11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten,{HR}He hath hidden his face;{HR}He will not see forever.
 13Wherefore hath the wicked [man] despised God?{HR}He hath said in his heart,{HR}Thou wilt not require (Psa. 10:4,6,11,13)
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1 Kings 12:26• 26{i}And{/i} Jeroboam said in heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. (1 Kings 12:26)
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Rom. 1:21,28• 21Because, having known God, they glorified him not as God nor were thankful, but became vain in their thoughts, and their heart void of understanding was darkened.
 28And even as they disapproved to have God in acknowledgment, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind to do improper things; (Rom. 1:21,28)
Corrupt.
Gen. 6:5‑6,11‑13• 5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man [was] great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually .
 6And Jehovah repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
 11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
 12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.
 13And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is full of violence through them; and behold I will destroy them with the earth. (Gen. 6:5‑6,11‑13)
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Job 14:4• 4Who giveth a clean out of an unclean thing? Not one! (Job 14:4)
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Job 15:16• 16How much less the abominable and corrupt,{HR}Man, that drinketh iniquity like water. (Job 15:16)
have done.
Lev. 18:24‑30• 24Make not yourselves unclean in any of these things; for in all these have made themselves unclean the nations which I cast out from before you.
 25And the land hath become unclean: and I visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out its inhabitants.
 26But ye shall observe my statutes and my judgments, and shall not do any of all these abominations, —the homeborn and the stranger that sojourneth among you
 27(for all these abominations have the men of the land done, who [were] before you, and the land hath been made unclean);
 28that the land vomit not you out also, when ye make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
 29For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, the souls that do [them] shall be cut off from among their people.
 30Therefore shall ye observe my charge, that ye do not [any] of these abominable customs which were done before you; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean therein: I [am] Jehovah your God. (Lev. 18:24‑30)
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Deut. 12:31• 31{i}Thou shalt not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every thing that is abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burned in the fire to their gods.{/i} (Deut. 12:31)
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1 Kings 14:24• 24And there were also sodomites in the land; and they did according to all the abominations of the nations {i}that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.{/i} (1 Kings 14:24)
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Ezek. 16:47,51• 47Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
 51Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. (Ezek. 16:47,51)
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Eph. 5:12• 12for the things in secret done by them it is shameful even to speak of, (Eph. 5:12)
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1 Peter 4:3• 3For the past time [is] sufficient to have wrought out the will of the Gentiles, walking as ye had done in lasciviousness, lusts, wine-bibbings, revels, carousings, and unhallowed idolatries; (1 Peter 4:3)
there is.
Rom. 3:10‑31• 10even as it is written, “There is none righteous, not one;
 11there is not the [man] that understandeth; there is not the [man] that seeketh out God.
 12All went out of the way, together they became unprofitable; there is none that practiceth kindness, there is not so much as one.”
 13“An open grave [is] their throat; with their tongues they used deceit; venom of asps [is] under their lips;
 14whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;
 15swift [are] their feet to shed blood;
 16ruin and misery [are] in their ways;
 17and no way of peace they knew.
 18There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
 19Now we know that whatever things the law saith, it speaketh to those that [are] in the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world be under judgment with God.
 20Wherefore by works of law no flesh shall be justified before him, for by law [is] knowledge of sin.
 21But now apart from law God's righteousness is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets,
 22even God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all that believe. For there is no difference;
 23for all sinned, and come short of the glory of God,
 24being justified gratuitously by his grace through the redemption that [is] in Christ Jesus,
 25whom God set forth as a propitiatory through faith in his blood, for a declaration of his righteousness on account of the praeter-mission of the sins that had been before, in the forbearance of God,
 26with a view to the declaration of his righteousness in the present time, in order to his being just and justifying him that [is] of faith in Jesus.
 27Where then [is] boasting? It was excluded. Through what law? Of works? No, but through [the] law of faith.
 28We reckon then that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.
 29Is he, pray, the God of Jews only? [Is he] not also of Gentiles? Yes, of Gentiles also;
 30since God [is] one who shall justify [the] circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through faith?
 31Do we then make void law through faith? Let it not be: nay, we establish law. (Rom. 3:10‑31)
• Book 2, Series 2. The Great Tribulation. (““The Placement of the Psalms in Prophecy”” by B. Anstey)
• Here it is the case that the conscience takes no notice of God. The heart has no desire after Him, and the will works as if there were none. He says so in his heart. Why should he say it? Because his conscience tells him there is one. His will would not have one; and as He is not seen in His workings, will sees only what it will. God is set aside, and the whole conduct is under the will's influence, as if no God existed. (“Practical Reflections on the Psalms: Psalms 49-54” by J.N. Darby)
• The antichrist of the last day, in whom “the fool” will have the most extreme expression, will deny God, opposing, exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped (2 Thess. 2:4). He will gather round him followers marked by corruption and abominable deeds. (“Psalm 53” by H. Smith)
• Scattered in the land and among the Gentiles (Ps. 55:6-7, 9, 14, Ps. 56:8, Ps. 57:9, etc.) the remnant view the current of apostasy growing among men. They observe that the children of men have thrown off all recognition of God. (“Book 2.” by B. Anstey)
• Psalm 14 is quite like this psalm. The difference being that Psalm 14 is more a description of the Jewish fool whereas Psalm 53 is more the Gentile fool. (“Book 2.” by B. Anstey)

J. N. Darby Translation

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To the chief Musician. On Mahalatha: an instruction. Of David. The foolb hath said in his heart, There is no God! They have corrupted themselves, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

JND Translation Notes

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a
The meaning is uncertain.
b
As Ps. 14.1. see Notes, 1 Sam. 25.3,25.

W. Kelly Translation

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To the chief musician, upon Mahalath; an instruction of David.{HR}The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.{HR}They have corrupted themselves,{HR}They have done abominable iniquity;{HR}There is none doing good.