Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not 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.
- BSB All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even 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 3:12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
- Isa 64:6But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
- Isa 53:6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
- Ps 14:3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
- Jer 8:5–6Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
- 3 Jn 1:11Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
- 2 Sam 20:2So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.
- Job 15:16How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
- 1 Jn 2:29If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
- Ezek 36:25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
- 2 Cor 7:1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Zeph 1:6And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.
- Rev 22:11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.