Common Humanity
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Psalm 14:3 NASB
Not even one – Psalm 14:3. The corruption of men. If you thought that things changed after the Messiah, well, you’d be wrong. In Paul’s last letter he cites the same Davidic idea. “as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one;’” (Romans 3:10). In fact, David repeats the theme in another poem:
God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God. Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Psalm 53:2-3 NASB
You might have noticed that Paul converts the Hebrew ṭôb (“good”) to Greek díkaios (“just, righteous”). Most of the time, ṭôb is equal to díkaios, but not always.[1] Paul is following the convention of the LXX. But what did David mean? Is he really saying that not one human being on the planet has ever been righteous? Perhaps Paul’s choice of the Greek term clarifies.
díkaios suggests a. conforming to custom, b. fulfilling obligations, and c. observing legal norms. There is also d. an ethical use whereby díkaios, having significance for the whole of life, relates to the four cardinal virtues. . . . The díkaios is the person who fulfils obligations to God and the theocratic society.[2]
When the Psalmist says there is none good, no, not one, he is not speaking of moral purity. He is saying that no one completely follows Torah according to the covenant agreement. No one gets all the obligations exactly right. That’s why there’s a Leviticus in the Bible. When Paul cites the theme in the Psalms, substituting díkaios for ṭôb, this nuance is retained because of the LXX. But when we read “righteous,” we no longer understand what the first century understood, that díkaios was about ritual purity. We think of “righteous” in moral terms because we abandoned the ritual obligations of the Torah long ago when Christianity became Roman. So our view is that everyone sins, and by that we mean everyone is morally guilty. We implicitly endorse Augustine’s idea of sinful nature because we have removed Torah obligations from our religious environment.
But I don’t think that’s what David had in mind. And probably not Paul either.
Topical Index: righteous, good, díkaios, ṭôb, Psalm 14:3, Psalm 52:2-3, Romans 3:10
[1] “The richness of the Heb. usage is in general excellently reproduced in the corresponding LXX words δίκη, δικαιοσύνη, δίκαιος and δικαιοῦν, though a comparison of the renderings used throughout the LXX shows a strong concern on the part of the Greek translators to express the vitality of the Hebrew terms by other expressions which were not always so felicitous.” (TDNT, Vol. 2, pp. 174-175.)
[2] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 169). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
