All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Parallel translations
- WEB Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one.
- KJV Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
- NKJV Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.
- NASB Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.
- NLT But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
All have turned away and become corrupt; not one does good. It declares the universal sinfulness of mankind.
Overview
The divine search yields a sweeping verdict: every person has gone astray and none does good. This total depravity does not mean people are as evil as possible, but that sin touches every part of every person. Paul quotes it to establish that salvation must come by grace through Christ, not human merit (Romans 3:12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Rom 3:12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
- Isa 64:6Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
- Isa 53:6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
- Ps 14:3All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
- Jer 8:5–6Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
- 3 Jn 1:11Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- 2 Sam 20:2So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
- Job 15:16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
- 1 Jn 2:29If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Ezek 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- 2 Cor 7:1Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Zeph 1:6and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.”
- Rev 22:11Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 53:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.