Psalms 14 and the Septuagint

 “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” —Psalms 14:3 

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12).  You may have heard it said that this passage is Paul quoting the Greek Septuagint of Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3, but he actually seems to be quoting from the Septuagint passages in Romans 3:12-18, that is if he’s quoting from the Septuagint at all.  Paul was writing under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that the very God-breathed words of Scripture may come forth. 

Remember: the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures commissioned by Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247BC). 

The Holy Spirit, through the apostle, is giving the reader (that’s the Roman Christians of Paul’s day, as well as to us today), the meaning and sense of Psalms 14:1-3, 

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” 

“The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God” (Psalms 14:2).  Here, we see that David presents the reader with the poetic illustration of an all-seeing God, examining the hearts of men to determine if any had understanding and were seeking after God.  On the other hand, Paul says, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11), giving us the answer to that search.  Then Paul quotes Psalms 14:3. 

The Septuagint of Psalms 14:3 and the New Testament Greek of Romans 3:12 are exactly the same, some textual variants notwithstanding.  Again, this is not to suggest that the Greek Septuagint was God-breathed.  That distinction is reserved only for original language manuscripts of the 66 books contained in Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation; these books alone are the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God.  The bottom line is that rather than suggesting that the apostle Paul is quoting the Septuagint here, let’s say simply that he is quoting Psalms 14:3 and translating the Hebrew under divine inspiration.

Let us take note that Psalm 14 also presents a universal depravity among all men in verse 2, “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men…”  This does not single out the Jews; it doesn’t say, “children of Israel,” or “descendents of Jacob,” but instead, “children of men,” or literally, “the sons of Adam.”  In other words, this is speaking of every sinful descendent from the first fallen man: disobedient Adam.