Psalm 53:1-6 vs. “Psalm 53 (English Standard Version)”

Why it matters

This psalm carries a sentence Paul builds on. In the Berean Standard Bible, Romans 3:12 runs the same nineteen words as Psalm 53:3, with one word changed. Paul is making the case that everyone is under sin.

So a setting that keeps all six verses hands you the whole finding, not just the famous opening about the fool. The psalm does not stop at other people. Verse 3 says no one, not even one.

Helpful comparison

The evidence here is open, because the rights holder published the words. The description under the official upload prints the sung text, and the ESV credit line sits directly beneath it.

Here is what we checked. We set that printed text beside an ESV of Psalm 53 and compared it word by word. It is 142 words against 142 words, in the same order, with nothing added and nothing dropped. We also counted the lines: 17 of them, all different from each other.

Here is what a printed text cannot show. It cannot tell you whether the recording repeats a line for musical shape. It does happen on this album. This site's proof of the Psalm 88 setting found the first track closing by singing the last line of verse 7 twice. And a review of this album in The Gospel Coalition Australia describes the psalm's opening line as this song's refrain. We did not listen through to count repeats, so that rests on the review. If it is right, it is a repeat of the psalm's own words rather than an addition. A lyric sheet is not a transcript.

Now the part worth knowing. Psalm 53 is nearly the same psalm as Psalm 14. Wikipedia's article calls this one "the Elohistic Psalter's (Pss. 42–83) version of Psalm 14" and says the two are nearly identical. That article counts two kinds of difference. Counted word by word in the Berean Standard Bible, they turn up in six places. One of the six is small: verse 1 reads "acts" in Psalm 14 and "ways" here. The big one is verse 5. Psalm 14 says God is in the company of the righteous, then adds a verse about the LORD as the shelter of the oppressed. Psalm 53 says instead that God has scattered the bones of the besiegers and despised them. Psalm 14 has seven verses. This one has six.

Three of the six are the same difference, three times over. Where Psalm 14 says "the LORD," Psalm 53 says "God" — in verse 2, in verse 4, and in the last verse. Counted in the Berean Standard Bible, Psalm 14 uses "LORD" four times and "God" three times. Psalm 53 uses "LORD" not once and "God" seven times. Psalm 14's fourth "LORD" is not swapped for anything: it stands in the line about the shelter of the oppressed, which Psalm 53 does not have. The sung ESV text matches that: seven uses of "God," none of "LORD." Psalm 14 sits in Book 1 of the Psalms and Psalm 53 sits in Book 2, and Book 2 prefers the word God.

Sources

• The Corner Room — "Psalm 53" (Lyric Video) · (official channel upload; oEmbed returns author_name "The Corner Room", channel @TheCornerRoomMusic, and a title naming The Corner Room and Psalm 53 as a lyric video; published 9 December 2021; runs 4:07; the description prints the sung text in 17 lines and five stanzas, states the song is from "Psalm Songs, Volume 3." ©2021 Corner Room Music, and closes with the ESV credit line naming Crossway Bibles, copyright 2001)
• Psalm Songs, Volume III — album page · (ten-track listing with "Psalm 53" at track 5, carrying no verse range, alongside "Psalm 88:1-7", "Psalm 88:8-18" and "Psalm 119:105-112", which do; the "About the Album" text names no Bible translation)
• Psalm Songs, Volume III (Digital Download) — store page · (the Volume III track listing; the "verbatim from the ESV Bible" sentence lower on this page belongs to the Volume II description, not Volume III)
• Apple Music — Psalm Songs, Vol. 3 · (released 10 December 2021, ℗ 2021 The Corner Room, 10 songs; the iTunes lookup API for this album gives track 5 as "Psalm 53 (English Standard Version)", 4:01, and every track title on the album carries the same parenthetical)
• Spotify — "Psalm 53 (English Standard Version)" · (the track title carries the version)
• Kingsley Davidson, "Fresh Folky Psalms and The Corner Room", The Gospel Coalition Australia, 13 May 2022 · (of this song, the review quotes the psalm's opening line and says it "is the song's refrain and is probably the catchiest riff on the entire album"; of the collection, "all the Psalms are taken verbatim from the ESV translation")
• BibleGateway — Psalm 53, English Standard Version · (the ESV text the printed lyric was compared against, word by word)
• Wikipedia — Psalm 53 · ("the Elohistic Psalter's (Pss. 42–83) version of Psalm 14"; "There are two differences between Psalms 14 and 53"; "Psalm 14 uses the covenant name of God, YHWH, typical of the Psalms in book 1 of Psalms (Psalms 1 through 41). Psalm 53 uses Elohim, typical of the Psalms in Book 2 (Psalms 42 through 72).")