Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one.
Parallel translations
- KJV Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth 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 have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”
- Isa 64:6For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
- Isa 53:6All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
- Ps 14:3They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one.
- Jer 8:5–6Why then have the people of Jerusalem fallen back by a perpetual backsliding? They cling to deceit, they refuse to return.
- 3 Jn 1:11Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
- 2 Sam 20:2So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah joined with their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
- Job 15:16how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!
- 1 Jn 2:29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
- Ezek 36:25I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
- 2 Cor 7:1Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Zeph 1:6those who have turned back from following Yahweh, and those who haven’t sought Yahweh nor inquired after him.
- Rev 22:11He who acts unjustly, let him act unjustly still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him do righteousness still. He who 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.