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Psalm 53:5

One poem, two endings: Psalm 53:5 and 14:5–6

Psalm 53 repeats Psalm 14, but its verse 5 differs: "God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee." Psalm 14:5–6 has "God is in the generation of the righteous… the LORD is his refuge." Both are shown here from the library's Hebrew.

Manuscript variant: witnesses differ in wording

The family tree

Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.

✓ contains it · ✕ does not · ❝ quotes part of it · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives

  • Same line, through lost copies
  • Translation
Hebrew
  1. The psalm as first composedPsalms composed over centuries (c. 10th–4th century BC; debated)
  2. Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed
  3. Psalm 14:5–6 (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed
Greek
  1. Greek Psalter (library: Giguet's French)Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872Translated from the Old Greek Psalter
Latin
  1. Jerome's Gallican Psalter (Clementine Vulgate)c. AD 386–392, revised from the GreekTranslated from the Greek Psalter (Origen's Hexapla)
English
  1. King James Bible1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew
  2. Psalm 14:5–6 (King James Bible)1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew
New Testament quotation

    Every witness, in order

    1. Psalms composed over centuries (c. 10th–4th century BC; debated)

      The psalm as first composed

      – No copy survives

      No original survives. About forty Psalms manuscripts from Qumran, Masada and Nahal Hever (c. 2nd century BC – 1st century AD) are the oldest copies.

    2. c. AD 386–392, revised from the Greek

      Jerome's Gallican Psalter (Clementine Vulgate)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Greek Psalter (Origen's Hexapla)

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).

      Deum non invocaverunt; illic trepidaverunt timore, ubi non erat timor. Quoniam Deus dissipavit ossa eorum qui hominibus placent: confusi sunt, quoniam Deus sprevit eos.

      Latin numbering: Psalm 52:6. Jerome revised this Latin Psalter from the Greek, so it is a witness to the Greek, not to the Hebrew.

    3. AD 1008

      Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)

      ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

      שָׁ֤ם ׀ פָּֽחֲדוּ־פַחַד֮ לֹא־הָ֢יָה֫ פָ֥חַד כִּֽי־אֱלֹהִ֗ים פִּ֭זַּר עַצְמ֣וֹת חֹנָ֑ךְ הֱ֝בִשֹׁ֗תָה כִּֽי־אֱלֹהִ֥ים מְאָסָֽם׃

      There they feared a fear where there was no fear, for God has scattered the bones of the one encamping against you; you have put them to shame, for God has rejected them

      Hebrew numbering: Psalm 53:6. Hebrew 53:6.

    4. AD 1008

      Psalm 14:5–6 (Leningrad Codex)

      ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

      שָׁ֤ם ׀ פָּ֣חֲדוּ פָ֑חַד כִּֽי־אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים בְּד֣וֹר צַדִּֽיק׃ עֲצַת־עָנִ֥י תָבִ֑ישׁוּ כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה מַחְסֵֽהוּ׃

      There they feared a fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. You would shame the counsel of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge

      The parallel verses of Psalm 14.

    5. 1611

      King James Bible

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).

      There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.

    6. 1611

      Psalm 14:5–6 (King James Bible)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

      There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge.

    7. Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872

      Greek Psalter (library: Giguet's French)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Old Greek Psalter

      How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.

      Ils n’ont point invoqué Dieu, et ils ont tremblé de peur là où il n’y avait rien à craindre. Mais Dieu a dispersé les os de ceux qui ne veulent plaire qu’aux hommes. Ils ont été confondus, parce que Dieu les a anéantis.

      Greek numbering: Psalm 52:6. Giguet's 1872 French of a printed Greek text; not checked against Rahlfs' critical edition.

    What changed, and why

    Several words share consonants: "encamp against you" (hnk) and "the poor/refuge" (mhsh), "scattered" (pzr) and other verbs. One version may be a reinterpretation of a damaged or difficult text, or a deliberate rewriting that turned the psalm toward a military deliverance (compare Ezekiel 6:5, bones scattered). No ancient manuscript settles which is older; Qumran copies of these verses have not been checked by the site.

    The library's Greek and Latin of Psalm 53 (Greek 52) follow the Psalm 53 form, with "men-pleasers" ("qui hominibus placent") for "him that encampeth against thee," another reading of the consonants.

    What the evidence shows

    • Independently documented53:5 differs from 14:5–6 in the library's Hebrew.
    • Not independently verifiedWhich form is older can be shown from manuscripts.

    Sources

      Related lessons

      • Psalm 53: The Fool's Creed, a Second Time →"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they… there is none that doeth good." Almost word for word Psalm 14, with "God" (Elohim) wherever Psalm 14 has "the LORD." But one verse is different: instead of "God is in the generation of the righteous," Psalm 53 says "God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee." "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!"
      • Psalm 14: The Fool Says There Is No God →"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Corruption is universal: "there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Evildoers eat up God's people as they eat bread. But God is with the righteous generation, and the psalm ends with a hope: "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!" Psalm 53 is almost the same psalm, using Elohim instead of YHWH.