Psalm 14 begins with a famous line: “The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God.” It describes a humanity gone astray, “there is none that doth good, no not one,” and ends in hope for the salvation of Israel. St. Paul quotes it to show that all need the grace of Christ. Psalm 53 is almost the same psalm. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 13. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 14 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, a psalm for David. The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God, They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one.
The Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God.
They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.
Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread?
They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear.
For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope.
Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.
Psalm 14 or Psalm 13?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 13 is Psalm 14 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Dixit insipiens in corde suo: Non est Deus. See how many psalms are there?
St. Paul and Psalm 14
St. Paul quotes the psalm in his letter to the Romans:
As it is written: There is not any man just.
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
All have turned out of the way; they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, there is not so much as one.
The Latin Vulgate, and so the Douay-Rheims, includes in verse 3 several further lines (“Their throat is an open sepulchre… there is no fear of God before their eyes”) that St. Paul gathers from other psalms and from Isaias in Romans 3:13–18; they are not in the Hebrew text of this psalm. The point is the same: all have sinned, and all need the mercy of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
What the psalm means
- Practical atheism: the “fool” may not argue against God; he simply lives as if God did not exist.
- Corruption spreads: “They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways.”
- God looks down: “to see if there be any that understand and seek God.”
- The poor have God: “the Lord is his hope.”
- Hope of salvation: “Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel?”
How the Church uses Psalm 14
- In the Liturgy of the Hours.
- In times of unbelief, as a prayer for those who live without God.
A prayer with Psalm 14
Written for this page:
Lord, the fool says in his heart that there is no God.
Keep me from living as if you did not exist.
Look down on all who have gone astray and draw them to seek you.
Bring salvation from Sion, and let your people rejoice. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What does “The fool says in his heart, There is no God” mean?
In the Bible a “fool” is someone who lives without reference to God; the psalm describes the moral corruption that follows.
Why is Psalm 14 longer in the Douay-Rheims?
The Latin Vulgate includes lines that St. Paul quotes in Romans 3:13–18, which are not in the Hebrew text of the psalm.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 13 (14); Romans 3:10–12, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.