Home Quiz
No God!
- 14:1 אַיִן: ayin, "No God!" - While most translations add "there is" (italicized
in KJV to indicate it is added) or similar
(missing subject), it is also often used as an imperative.
E.g. Exodus 21:11 "she shall go free without money".
So, in my opinion (contrary to learned scholars), the fool
is not stating a proposition (there is no God), but declaring
a preference (No God!) - like "No onions" when ordering pizza.
Some commentators agree with me: “That is, ‘No God for me.’ So his is a
practical as well as theoretical atheism. Not only does he not believe
in God, he also acts on his conviction.” (Boice)
But then, the same word is used in the couplet
(and in v3) "there is no one who does good."
- 14:2 "The LORD looks on the sons of men" - recall Psalm 11:4,
"His eyes behold, His eyelids try". This is a major reason why
so many order "No God!" with their eternal destiny. "Why
can't God just leave me alone?"
- 14:3 אָלַח alach: "become corrupt", "proceed", "muddle" - the modern term is
"progressive". As C.S. Lewis quipped, "I've seen progress in an egg -
we call it 'going bad'." "Muddle" is the same idea as entropy.
The conclusion of Heaven is the same as
David, "There is no one who does good." Except God can add, "not even
one", because He sees everything and can prove a negative.
- 14:4 "as they eat bread" - no empathy at all for the people they
exploit. The modern term is
"Psychopath".
- 14:5 "in great fear" - however much they try to put it out of their mind,
they know deep inside that nothing can "hide
them from the face of Him that sits on the throne." Revelation 6:16
- 14:6 "they mock the plans of the poor" - "deplorables". "Because the LORD
is their refuge." Psalm 9:9
- 14:7 "return the captivity" - restore prosperity. David longs for God
to restore prosperity to Israel.