How does Psalm 14:3 relate to the concept of original sin? Canonical and Manuscript Witnesses The verse is preserved identically in the Masoretic Text (MT), 11QPsᵃ (Dead Sea Scrolls, cave 11), the Septuagint (LXX Psalm 13:3), and the Codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, demonstrating textual stability. Paul cites it verbatim in Romans 3:12, showing first-century recognition of its authority. The Psalm’s Davidic superscription aligns with Tel Dan and Khirbet Qeiyafa inscriptions confirming a 10th-century House of David. Exegesis of Psalm 14:3 1. Scope: “All” (hakkōl) extends the charge from “the fool” (v.1) to every human. 2. Nature of the fault: “turned away” = active rebellion, not mere ignorance. 3. Result: “become corrupt” = internal moral putrefaction, not simply bad acts. 4. Negation of goodness: the double-negative climax annihilates any claim to innate righteousness. Correlation with Original Sin in Genesis Original sin originates in Adam’s disobedience (Genesis 3). Romans 5:12 explains, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Psalm 14:3 is an observational confirmation: the Edenic fall is not mythic; its effects are empirically visible in every generation. Genesis 6:5 parallels Psalm 14:3, describing universal evil inclinations before the Flood. Both texts presuppose an inherited corruption, not individual isolated failures. Intertextual Echoes in the Old and New Testaments • Job 15:14-16, Ecclesiastes 7:20, and Isaiah 53:6 echo the same verdict. • Jesus affirms human depravity: “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). • Paul strings Psalm 14:1-3 with other texts (Romans 3:10-18) as a courtroom indictment establishing humanity’s guilt before presenting Christ’s atonement. • The consistent witness across centuries and authors evidences the unity of Scripture on the doctrine of sin. Theological Implications: Total Depravity and Universal Need Psalm 14:3 undergirds the Reformation concept of total depravity: not that every person is as evil as possible, but that corruption reaches every faculty—mind, will, emotions. This corruption is inherited (original sin) and imputed guilt (Romans 5:18). Therefore, salvation must be monergistic, grounded wholly in the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:17). Jesus Christ: The Remedy Presupposed The Psalm’s absolutism (“not even one”) prepares the logic of substitution. Only a sinless representative can reverse Adam’s failure (2 Corinthians 5:21). The empty tomb, attested by early creed (1 Corinthians 15:3-5), enemy admission of the vacated grave (Matthew 28:11-15), and eyewitness convergence, supplies the historical foundation for the reversal of original sin’s penalty. Pastoral and Evangelistic Application Psalm 14:3 removes self-righteous refuge, steering hearers to grace alone. Ray-Comfort-style diagnostic questions (“Have you ever lied?”) operationalize the verse, exposing personal participation in Adam’s fall. Conclusion Psalm 14:3 does not merely describe scattered transgressions; it articulates the universal condition wrought by original sin. Its harmony with Genesis, prophetic literature, the Gospels, and Pauline theology, its firm manuscript base, and its confirmation in human experience render it a cornerstone text for understanding humanity’s plight and the necessity of Christ’s salvific work. |
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