Psalms 14:4 · Bible study
Psalms 14:4 Commentary: Knowledge That the Wicked Refuse
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 14:4 asks if the wicked lack knowledge, but the issue is moral blindness. They devour God's people and reject prayer.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A rhetorical question exposing the willful ignorance of the wicked, who oppress God’s people and refuse to pray.
- Key words: 'know' (H3045 yada), perception and acknowledgment; 'eat' (H0398 akhal), devour, consume; 'call on' (H7121 qara), cry out in worship or need.
- Main debate: Does 'no knowledge' mean genuine ignorance (Barnes) or moral blindness despite awareness (Gill)? Both positions agree the wicked are culpable.
- Theological theme: Practical atheism, acting as if God does not exist by oppressing others and neglecting prayer.
- Best use: To convict of hidden unbelief and to stir dependence on God as the refuge of the poor (v.6).
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on Yahweh?
KJV King James Version 1769
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my peopleasthey eat bread, And call not upon Jehovah?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Have all working iniquity not known? Those consuming my people have eaten bread, Jehovah they have not called.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, eating up my people [as] they eat bread? They call not upon Jehovah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing: but he glorifieth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his neighbour, and deceiveth not;
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¿ No tendrán conocimiento todos los que obran iniquidad, que devoran á mi pueblo como si pan comiesen, y á Jehová no invocaron?
Será que não têm conhecimento todos os que praticam a maldade? Eles devoram a meu povo como se comessem pão, e não clamam ao SENHOR.
Tous ceux qui commettent l’iniquité ont-ils perdu le sens?
Will denn der Übeltäter keiner das merken, die mein Volk fressen, daß sie sich nähren; aber den HERRN rufen sie nicht an?
Hebben dan alle werkers der ongerechtigheid geen kennis, die mijn volk opeten, alsof zij brood aten? Zij roepen den HEERE niet aan.
Son essi senza conoscenza tutti questi operatori d’iniquità, che mangiano il mio popolo come mangiano il pane e non invocano l’Eterno?
Aleć wszyscy odstąpili, jednako się nieużytecznymi stali; niemasz, ktoby czynił dobrze, niemasz i jednego.
тот, в глазах которого презрен отверженный, но который боящихся Господа славит; кто клянется, хотя бы злому, и не изменяет;
作 孽 的都 沒有 知識嗎？他們吞吃 我的百姓，如同吃 飯一樣，並不 求告 耶和華。
Have all the workers of evil no knowledge? they take my people for food as they would take bread; they make no prayer to the Lord.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 14:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The rhetorical question is central. Barnes notes that the first statement implies they have opportunities to gain knowledge but neglect them, a willful ignorance, not innocence. Gill, however, insists they do know: these are sinners in Zion with revelation, yet they act as though they know nothing. Matthew Henry calls them those who 'take as much pleasure in wickedness as in their necessary food.' The eating metaphor suggests habitual, unthinking cruelty, they consume God’s people 'as they eat bread' (Keil & Delitzsch). All commentators agree the workers of iniquity are not ignorant in a neutral sense; their refusal to call on Yahweh confirms a practical atheism. The question expects the answer 'yes, they have knowledge,' but a knowledge they suppress.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Willful ignorance / moral blindness: Barnes, Calvin, Matthew Henry: the wicked have light but refuse it; their ignorance is culpable neglect.
- Practical atheism despite knowledge: Gill: they know God intellectually but live as practical atheists, eating up the poor and not praying.
- Textual variant: 'were made to know': Cambridge Bible: altering the vocalisation yields 'were they not taught?' aligning with judgment in v.5.
What is clear: The verse condemns the oppression of God's people and the refusal to call on Yahweh, ruling out any claim of innocent ignorance.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of their 'knowledge' | The wicked are answerable for not knowing, they have means to know God. | Some (Barnes, Keil) say they are truly ignorant because they have neglected light; others (Gill) say they possess knowledge but suppress it. |
| Identity of the oppressors | They are within Israel or acting against God's covenant people. | Jewish traditions and some Christian commentators see foreign oppressors; others (Calvin, Cambridge) identify them as corrupt leaders within Israel. |
| The meaning of 'call not upon the Lord' | It indicates a failure to worship or depend on God. | Some see it as a result of their oppression (Clarke: 'they have no defense'); others as its root cause (Matthew Henry: they care not for God). |
Historical & Cultural Context
The phrase 'my people' echoes Exodus language (Cambridge Bible), pointing to Israel as God’s covenant nation. The workers of iniquity are likely Israel’s own leaders or powerful citizens who oppress the poor (Gill, Keil & Delitzsch, Matthew Henry). This fits the prophetic indictment in Micah 3:1, 3 and Isaiah 3:14, 15, where rulers devour the people like flesh. Some interpreters, including Jewish traditions cited by Calvin, have read the enemies as foreign oppressors, but the context of Psalm 14 as a whole (v.2 God looks down on 'the children of men'; v.3 universal corruption) suggests the problem is broader, Israel itself is guilty. The eating imagery conveys both greed and indifference: they consume the vulnerable without reflection. The failure to call on Yahweh sets them apart from the righteous, who seek Him (v.2). In the ANE, calling on a deity’s name was an act of worship and dependence; to omit it was to deny God’s authority. The verse thus portrays a society where justice and piety have collapsed simultaneously.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note one significant textual variant. The Cambridge Bible observes that a change in vocalisation (following ancient versions) would yield 'Were not all the workers of iniquity made to know?' (i.e., taught by experience), rather than the Masoretic 'have no knowledge.' This reading connects more directly to the judgment in verse 5. However, the standard Hebrew text as reflected in most translations (WEB, KJV, ASV) preserves the interrogative form 'Have they no knowledge?' No other variants are mentioned.
Reception History
Psalm 14:4 has been read by Christians as a key text on willful ignorance. In the patristic period, it was cited to show that sin blinds the mind. Medieval interpreters often moralised the 'eating of bread' as the way the wicked consume the poor. Reformers like Calvin and Luther used the verse to argue that natural knowledge of God is suppressed by human depravity. Later, Wesley and Matthew Henry saw it as a call to examine whether one's daily life acknowledges God. The verse also appears in discussions of social justice, as ancient Israel's prophets echoed its imagery (Micah 3:1, 3).
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The ignorance of the wicked is chosen, not inevitable. The question implies they could know, but refuse. Their knowledge of God is suppressed (Romans 1:19, 28).
- Oppression of God’s people is a dominant sign of that ignorance. Eating them up like bread shows how natural cruelty becomes.
- The ultimate test of knowledge is prayer. Not calling on the Lord reveals a heart that does not want Him.
Five-point outline
- The rhetorical question: God asks as if astonished at human blindness (Matthew Henry).
- Workers of iniquity: not occasional sinners but those devoted to evil.
- Eating my people: systemic, relentless oppression (Keil: 'they think it lawful').
- As they eat bread: daily, without shame, like a basic right.
- Do not call on Yahweh: the root of all evil, no prayer, no worship.
Illustration hooks
- A public scandal where the powerful exploit the vulnerable without a second thought, like a company that pays starvation wages while executives feast.
- The habit of skipping prayer before meals: it shows how easily we treat daily provisions as if they have no Giver.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it really possible to 'know' God and still act like the wicked?
- How do I recognize the difference between genuine ignorance and willful rejection?
- What does my prayer life reveal about what I truly know?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 14:4 forces us to examine the gap between what we claim to know and how we live. The workers of iniquity are not atheists philosophically; they are practical atheists who act as if God does not see. Their cruelty toward the poor matches their neglect of prayer.
Discussion questions
- What does the verb 'know' (H3045) mean in this context? Read the definition carefully: is it intellectual knowledge or relational acknowledgment?
- Why does God phrase the indictment as a question ('Have they no knowledge?') rather than a statement? What effect does that have?
- How does the metaphor 'eat up my people as they eat bread' describe both the method and the mindset of oppression?
- Look at the cross-references: Job 21:15, Psalm 79:6. What do these show about the connection between knowledge of God and calling on His name?
- In what ways can we, as individuals or as a church, be in danger of 'not calling on the Lord' while still going through religious motions?
- This verse names two sins: devouring the vulnerable and ignoring God. Which do you think comes first? Can you have one without the other?
- How does knowing that God sees and judges these workers (v.5) change how you pray for justice in the world?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Job 21:15 | What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’ |
| Job 27:10 | Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call on God at all times? |
| Psalms 27:2 | When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. |
| Psalms 79:6 | Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name, |
| Psalms 82:5 | They don’t know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. |
| Psalms 94:8 | Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise? |
| Psalms 94:9 | He who implanted the ear, won’t he hear? He who formed the eye, won’t he see? |
| Isaiah 5:13 | Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke sees the wicked in this verse as people who have lost all understanding of their own condition. They add cruelty to their fallen state, devouring God's people as if they were easy prey. Because they never call on the Lord, they have no defense and are effectively atheists or idolaters.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies three proofs of human depravity in this verse: willful ignorance of God, using the failures of believers to excuse one's own sin, and the crowning evidence of refusing to pray or acknowledge the Lord at all. The greatest sin, he argues, is living as if there is no God.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin rejects the common Jewish reading that this psalm predicts Gentile oppression of Israel. He insists the words describe the perverse children of Abraham themselves—Jews who corrupted all good order and did abominable work while claiming to be God's people. For Calvin, the fool who denies God is found within the covenant community.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible suggests the opening question is better read as asking whether the wicked have been taught by harsh experience to recognize their error. It notes the phrase about devouring God's people likely means these oppressors live off their victims, and identifies "my people" as the nation of Israel rather than a godly remnant.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights the startling indifference of the wicked: they consume God's people as routinely as eating bread. Their deeper sin is practical atheism—they never call on the Lord, showing they live as if He does not see or judge.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill argues that the workers of iniquity are not ignorant of God—they know Him by revelation, especially the corrupt leaders in Israel. Their sin is worsened by the fact that they devour God's people with the same ease, pleasure, and lack of remorse as eating bread, all while refusing to call on the Lord.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the wicked are not ignorant of God but simply indifferent, and their indifference turns to terror when God judges. The image of devouring God's people expresses beastly fury. He adds that calling on the Lord means worshipping Him.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argues that the phrase "they do not know" means these sinners are utterly devoid of understanding, like brute beasts. They have become so desensitized that devouring God's people feels as ordinary and guiltless as eating a meal. This lack of knowledge and prayer marks them as worse than senseless animals.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange distinguishes practical atheism from theoretical denial: the fool's heart, not his intellect, rejects God, revealing itself in corrupt, worthless conduct. He reads the perfect tenses as timeless declarations of experience, not limited to
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry focuses on the shocking carelessness of the wicked: they devour God's people as easily and routinely as eating bread, without a pang of conscience. Their refusal to call on God shows they despise not just the godly but God himself. This hollow security will shatter when they face sudden terror.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that those who take bread with greedy indifference show not only injustice toward others but also a direct contempt for God. He insists such behavior cannot be excused as a mere social failing; it is an act of impiety that dishonors the Creator.