Psalms 14:3 Commentary: No One Who Does Good, A Study

Psalm 14 is a lament attributed to David, set in a dramatic courtroom scene. The psalm opens with the declaration that ‘the fool has said in his heart, “There is no God”’ (v. 1), a statement that is not intellectual atheism but moral rebellion, a refusal to live as though God has authority. When God ‘looks down from heaven’ (v. 2), the language deliberately echoes the divine survey before the flood in Genesis 6:5,12, where every intention of the human heart was only evil continually. The Hebrew verb sar (‘gone aside’) is the same word used to describe Israel’s apostasy in Deuteronomy and Judges (Deut 11:28; Judg 2:17). It means to turn off the path, to wander from covenant loyalty. The rare ne'elachu (become corrupt) is a strong term for moral rottenness, like spoiled food that is good for nothing. This poetic judgment is sweeping: ha kol (the totality), yachdav (together, in one union), and gam ehad (not even one). The superscription attributes the psalm to David, though some modern interpreters (e.g., Hitzig, Olshausen) have argued for a later, exilic date based on the longing for salvation from Zion in verse 7. But the theological point holds regardless of dating: the psalmist sees a world in revolt, where even God’s own people have joined the rebellion. The Septuagint later expanded the text by inserting verses from Romans 3:13, 18, but the original Hebrew ends the third verse at ‘not one.’ Paul’s use of the passage in his letter to Rome shows that the early church understood this as a description of humanity’s spiritual condition apart from God’s grace.

The supplied sources note one significant textual issue: the Septuagint (LXX) adds a block of six verses after our verse 3, drawn from Romans 3:13, 18 (itself a chain of Old Testament quotations). This addition appears in the Vatican and Sinaitic manuscripts but was obelized by Origen and is absent from the Alexandrian codex. The Masoretic Hebrew tradition does not include these verses. The recovery of the original text is uncertain, but most modern translations follow the shorter Hebrew reading. No other variants in the Hebrew of verse 3 are noted in the consulted sources.

This verse has been central to Christian teaching on human sinfulness since the earliest centuries. The apostle Paul’s use of it in Romans 3 cemented its place in the argument for universal guilt and the need for justification by faith. Augustine of Hippo drew on this verse to articulate the doctrine of original sin, arguing that it describes humanity after the Fall. During the Reformation, both Luther and Calvin cited Psalm 14:3 as clear scriptural proof that we are saved by grace alone, apart from any work of our own. In the Wesleyan tradition, Adam Clarke used the same verse to stress that sin is a deep inner corruption that only grace can reverse. The verse has also been sung in metrical psalms and quoted in countless sermons as a diagnosis that drives hearers to the cross. While some modern interpreters nuance the claim by noting its original context, the mainstream Christian tradition has consistently read it as a sobering and universal statement about the human heart.

Three-point outline

1. All have turned aside. The word sar means to depart from the true path. Humanity is not merely wandering; it has deliberately abandoned God’s ways. This is not a stumble but an apostasy of the heart.
2. All have become corrupt. The image of sour milk or rancid flesh (cf. Psalm 38:5) shows that the corruption is internal, something that spreads from the inside out. It is not just bad actions but a spoiled nature.
3. No one does good. This repeats the thought of verse 1 with even greater emphasis. God sees no one who, from a pure motive and genuine faith, performs good. The only remedy is outside ourselves, in the salvation that comes from Zion (v. 7).

Five-point outline

1. The divine investigation (v. 2). God looks for anyone who understands and seeks Him. The verse sets up the tragedy.
2. The universal verdict (v. 3a). ‘They have all gone aside … together become corrupt.’ The verdict is unanimous.
3. The emphatic repetition (v. 3b). ‘There is none who does good, no, not one.’ The Hebrew adds gam (‘also, even’) to drive the point home.
4. The root of the problem (v. 1). Practical atheism, living as if God does not see or will not judge, underlies the corruption.
5. The hope beyond the verdict (vv. 6, 7). The poor find refuge in the Lord, and the psalm ends with a cry for salvation from Zion. The diagnosis is dire, but the final word is hope.

Illustration hooks

• Sour milk. Clarke’s metaphor: fresh milk is good; left too long, it turns sour. Something that starts clean becomes rancid. Human nature, left to itself, does the same. Even the best deeds can become tainted by selfishness or pride when done apart from God.
• A GPS that refuses to recalculate. When you miss a turn, the GPS says ‘recalculating.’ But here, every driver has turned off the road and insists they are still on course. They do not seek the right way because they do not believe there is a need.
• The test of a perfect score. God’s standard is not ‘mostly good’ but ‘perfectly good.’ Just as one wrong answer on an exam can fail you, one sin separates. Verse 3 declares that no one scores a perfect ‘good’ from God’s perspective.

Questions your congregation is asking

• Does this mean even kind, generous people are not good? How can I understand this when I see non-Christians do wonderful things?
• If there is no one who does good, why do I feel like I often do good things? Is this verse about motives or actions?
• How does this radical diagnosis of humanity connect to the gospel? If everyone is utterly corrupt, what hope is there?

This verse is a striking diagnosis of the human condition. Before we rush to apply it to others, we are invited to let God’s searchlight expose our own hearts. The point is not to make us despair but to help us see why we desperately need a Saviour.

Discussion questions

1. Read verses 1, 3 together. What do you notice about the progression from the fool’s statement to God’s investigation to the verdict?
2. The Hebrew word sar (gone aside) pictures someone leaving a known path. Can you think of times when you have walked away from God’s way without realising it?
3. Why does the psalmist repeat the idea that no one does good? What impact does that repetition have on the reader?
4. How do you reconcile the strong claim of this verse with the fact that even unbelieving people can be kind, loving, and moral?
5. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 3:10, 12. How does that New Testament context expand our understanding of the psalmist’s point?
6. What does this verse teach us about God’s standard of ‘good’? How does that differ from our standard?
7. Verse 7 looks forward to salvation from Zion. How does this verse, which seems so bleak, actually prepare us to receive grace?