The Meaning of Psalms 53:4 Explained

Psalms 53:4

KJV: Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

YLT: Have not workers of iniquity known, Those eating my people have eaten bread, God they have not called.

Darby: Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, eating up my people as they eat bread? they call not upon God.

ASV: Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And call not upon God?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Have the workers  of iniquity  no knowledge?  who eat up  my people  [as] they eat  bread:  they have not called  upon God. 

What does Psalms 53:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The psalmist may have had some specific instance of God"s deliverance in mind, or he may have spoken of His future judgment as having already taken place because of its certainty. God Himself would terrorize and shame His enemies. Evidently David saw God"s people as playing some role in their enemies" defeat.

Context Summary

Psalms 53:1-6 - Sinners All-God Alone Can Help
That Psalms 53:1-6 should be a repetition of Psalms 14:1-7, with very few variations, suggests, as does the "verily, verily" of Christ, that the truths contained in these words are worthy of special attention. They supply the Apostle, in Romans 3:1-31, with his phraseology for describing the state of the ungodly before the searching eye of Omniscience.
We have here a photograph of the human heart. Jew and Gentile are alike in their innermost texture. There is nothing to choose between the Pharisee and the publican, except when either turns the balance by humble confession, as in Luke 18:9, etc.
Psalms 54:1-7 is probably founded on 1 Samuel 23:19. It is short, as if compressed by the urgency of David's need. Evidently he was in sore straits, though conscious of the rectitude of his cause. Notice how he makes his transition from prayer to praise, Psalms 54:4. He affirms, in spite of everything, that God is still his helper. He hears the approaching footsteps of those who are pledged to uphold Him, and God is with them. As he speaks thus in the confidence of faith, the storm clears away. He is delivered; his eye has seen the defeat of his foes. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 53

1  David describes the corruption of the natural man
4  He convinces the wicked by the light of their own conscience
6  He glories in the salvation of God

What do the individual words in Psalms 53:4 mean?

Have no knowledge the workers of iniquity who eat up my people [as] they eat bread upon God not and do call
הֲלֹ֥א ؟ יָדְעוּ֮ פֹּ֤עֲלֵ֫י אָ֥וֶן אֹכְלֵ֣י עַ֭מִּי אָ֣כְלוּ לֶ֑חֶם אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לֹ֣א קָרָֽאוּ

הֲלֹ֥א  Have  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
؟ יָדְעוּ֮  knowledge 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
פֹּ֤עֲלֵ֫י  the  workers 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: פָּעַל  
Sense: to do, make.
אָ֥וֶן  of  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָוֶן 
Sense: trouble, wickedness, sorrow.
אֹכְלֵ֣י  who  eat  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
עַ֭מִּי  my  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
אָ֣כְלוּ  [as]  they  eat 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
לֶ֑חֶם  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים  upon  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
קָרָֽאוּ  and  do  call 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.