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Psalm 53 Bible study: Where no fear was
Psalm 53 is almost Psalm 14, with lines of its own. It never has the LORD: it names God seven times, and after the fool's There is no God (53:1), God looks down, scatters, rejects and brings back. Only here are they in great fear where no fear was (53:5). And the title's contemplation is spelled in Hebrew like 53:2's understood.
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“Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.”
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“Psalm 53:5 says they were in great fear "where no fear was".”
Is that in Psalm 53, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Almost Psalm 14, with its own lines
Psalm 53 is almost the same psalm as Psalm 14. Its title is longer: "For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Mahalath.” A contemplation by David" (53:1), where Psalm 14's is "For the Chief Musician. By David" (Psalm 14:1) (tap contemplation). Then its first words are Psalm 14's, word for word: "The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”" (53:1) (tap fool). From there the two differ here and there. Psalm 14 has "They have done abominable deeds" (Psalm 14:1), and Psalm 53 "and have done abominable iniquity" (53:1): the same Hebrew verb, with another noun (tap abominable). Psalm 14 has "They have all gone aside" (Psalm 14:3), and Psalm 53 "Every one of them has gone back" (53:3), with another Hebrew verb (tap gone back). Where Psalm 14 has the LORD, Psalm 53 has God. And after "There they were in great fear" (53:5), which both have, Psalm 53 goes its own way for the rest of the verse. The chapter on Psalm 14 sets many of these side by side; this chapter looks at the lines only Psalm 53 has.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 53
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 53 is waiting in Favor
- "There is no God", and then God, six more times
- Where no fear was
- Words both psalms share, in Romans 3
- Where the WEB differs and the Hebrew doesn't
- Encamp and be afraid: Psalms 27 and 34
- 6 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 53 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
אֱלֹהִיםElohimsay e-lo-HEEM
Brown-Driver-Briggs gives the word several senses, among them "divine ones, superhuman beings including God and angels". Strong's: "gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God". "The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”" (53:1). In Psalm 53 the WEB has God seven times, and each is this word; the psalm never has the LORD. Psalm 14, almost the same psalm, has elohim three times (Psalm 14:1, 14:2, 14:5) and the LORD four times (Psalm 14:2, 14:4, 14:6, 14:7). It is the word of "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
For your group
Psalm 53 Bible study questions
- 1Psalm 53 says again almost everything Psalm 14 says. What have you needed to hear from God more than once before it took hold?
- 2After the workers of iniquity "who eat up my people" (53:4), the psalm says, "There they were in great fear" (53:5). In Psalm 27 someone says, "Of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). What makes the difference between the two?
- 3"When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice" (53:6). Where have you seen God bring someone back? What did the joy look like?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 53 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home