Psalm 14
English Standard Version
The Fool Says, There Is No God
To the choirmaster. Of David.
14 (A)The (B)fool says in his heart, (C)“There is no God.”
They are (D)corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
(E)there is none who does good.
2 The Lord (F)looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,[a]
who (G)seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become (H)corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4 Have they no (I)knowledge, all the evildoers
who (J)eat up my people as they eat bread
and (K)do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they are in great terror,
for God is with (L)the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor,
but[b] the Lord is his (M)refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord (N)restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Footnotes
- Psalm 14:2 Or that act wisely
- Psalm 14:6 Or for
Psalm 14
The Message
14 Bilious and bloated, they gas,
“God is gone.”
Their words are poison gas,
fouling the air; they poison
Rivers and skies;
thistles are their cash crop.
2 God sticks his head out of heaven.
He looks around.
He’s looking for someone not stupid—
one man, even, God-expectant,
just one God-ready woman.
3 He comes up empty. A string
of zeros. Useless, unshepherded
Sheep, taking turns pretending
to be Shepherd.
The ninety and nine
follow their fellow.
4 Don’t they know anything,
all these predators?
Don’t they know
they can’t get away with this—
Treating people like a fast-food meal
over which they’re too busy to pray?
5-6 Night is coming for them, and nightmares,
for God takes the side of victims.
Do you think you can mess
with the dreams of the poor?
You can’t, for God
makes their dreams come true.
7 Is there anyone around to save Israel?
Yes. God is around; God turns life around.
Turned-around Jacob skips rope,
turned-around Israel sings laughter.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson