· Translation: KJV

Psalms 53:3Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one.

The setting

Ancient Israel, ~1000 BC. David surveys the moral landscape and finds universal corruption...

The emotion here: heartbroken disillusionment after personal betrayals

The original word

sur (סוּר) — to turn aside from the path, like a traveler abandoning the road

Why it matters

David wrote this after Absalom's rebellion when even his own son and advisors betrayed him

Read with care

What most readers miss in Psalms 53:3

David includes himself in this condemnation - he's not exempting himself from human corruption

Common misconceptionPeople read this as David being judgmental of others, but he's including himself. This isn't condemnation of 'them' - it's honest assessment of 'us.'

Bible Genome reading

Psalms 53:3 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerDavid
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotiongrieving
Literary typepsalm

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability70%
Memorability70%
Crisis relevance70%
Standalone60%
Themes:universal sinhuman depravitymoral failure

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Psalms 53

Psalms 53:3 comes from the book of Psalms, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to David. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the psalm genre of biblical literature. Key themes include universal sin, human depravity, moral failure. Notable phrases: no one who does good, no, not one.

Your reflection

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