Chapter 14 of Tehillim is uniquely distinctive: almost word for word, it reappears in Chapter 53. Many do not notice this, but the parallel is striking. Here, the chapter opens: "For the conductor, of David: The scoundrel says in his heart, 'There is no God,'" whereas there it opens: "For the conductor, upon Machalat, a Maskil of David," followed by "The scoundrel says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Here it reads, "they have acted corruptly, they have done abominable deeds," and there, "injustice." Here it says, "Hashem looked down from heaven," while there it is "God looked down from heaven." There are slight variations, but essentially it is the exact same psalm.
The commentators have already addressed this. Rashi explains that David composed two distinct psalms here: the first psalm (Chapter 14) was said concerning Nebuchadnezzar, and the second psalm (Chapter 53) was said concerning the destruction of the Second Temple, about Titus the wicked. King David protests that Nebuchadnezzar is destined to enter the Sanctuary and destroy it, and as it were, no one stands against him to protest; likewise Titus, who entered to destroy the Beit HaMikdash without protest. Concerning this he says: "Hashem looked down from heaven upon the children of man, to see if there is any who understands."
As is our practice, we study according to the Malbim, who explains that the duplicate psalm stems from an entirely different matter. David composed this psalm regarding a miracle that Hashem performed for him, having been saved from an enemy who harmed and oppressed the people of Israel, and over this salvation he sang to Hashem, blessed be He. Years later, when Sennacherib attacked in the days of Hezekiah and Hashem performed a tremendous miracle for him - all one hundred and eighty-five thousand troop commanders died at the gates of Jerusalem, an angel of Hashem having gathered them all in a single night - they saw that this psalm was fitting to offer thanks for that miracle as well. Therefore, they instituted the psalm a second time, with a certain addition, attributing it to David ("For the conductor... of David"), as David had originally authored it. However, since it was now sung over the new miracle, the psalm underwent a form of adaptation and was chanted in a slightly modified version. Thus, Chapter 53 is the version sung in the days of Hezekiah, while Chapter 14 before us is the original psalm David composed over his salvation from his enemies.
לַמְנַצֵּחַ לְדָוִד, אָמַר נָבָל בְּלִבּוֹ אֵין אֱלֹהִים, הִשְׁחִיתוּ הִתְעִיבוּ עֲלִילָה אֵין עֹשֵׂה טוֹב׃ - For the conductor, of David: The scoundrel says in his heart, "There is no God"; they have acted corruptly, they have done abominable deeds, there is none who does good.
The Malbim explains: The king who came to wage war against David denied the existence of Hashem. That king is the "scoundrel" (naval), and he said, "There is no God." This is precisely as Sennacherib denied the existence of Hashem and sent messengers to blaspheme the living God. From here it is also understood why they adopted this psalm for Chapter 53: they saw a complete parallel to what occurred in their own days - a scoundrel said there is no God, and Sennacherib likewise said there is no God.
The entire army of that scoundrel king in David's time corrupted their deeds; all of them committed evils and abominations, to the point that "there is none who does good." One might ask: if it has already been stated that they perform such wicked deeds, what does "there is none who does good" add? The Malbim explains: among them, no one does good even out of basic etiquette, out of kindness and compassion - what we call basic humanity. There are righteous people who perform good deeds, and even among the nations doing good is sometimes found out of social propriety - that it is uncivilized to act otherwise - or out of some innate pity in the heart. David says: among them, even this kind of good does not exist.
And what is the meaning of "they have acted corruptly, they have done abominable deeds [alilah]"? The Malbim explains that there are actions rooted in internal character traits, in negative traits ingrained in the human soul, and these are called "alilot." There is external evil, and there is evil ingrained in the soul; a person whose soul is depraved - this is referred to as "alilot." The Malbim explains this in several places: "alilot" signifies that evil resides deep within. A person driven by dispositions to destroy people through murder, violence, and the like - these are "corrupt alilot." A person whose heart harbors evil thoughts of forbidden sexual relations and the like - these are "abominations," as in the language of the Torah which warned not to emulate the abominations of the nations in matters of forbidden relations, and these are "abominable alilot." This is the meaning of "they have acted corruptly, they have done abominable deeds": they corrupted through murder and violence, and acted abominably in immoral relations, all stemming from the wickedness of their souls.
The Malbim adds: there was one man among them who gave the impression of being a believer in Hashem and one who showed Him honor. Likewise, if we jump ahead to Psalm 53, even in the days of Sancheriv there was such a person - for Chazal tell us that Nevuchadnetzar showed honor to Hashem. When Merodach-baladan son of Baladan sent the letter, and Nevuchadnetzar arrived and saw how it was written - that they had placed the name of Chizkiyahu before the Name of Hashem - he said: 'If Hashem is the Great God, He must come first!' - and he ran to rewrite the letter. Thus, there was someone who seemingly honored Hashem, who showed genuine respect for spirituality and the Master of the World. And in that merit, as Chazal say, he and ten other men were spared from the camp of Sancheriv, and three generations of royalty followed in the wake of those few footsteps. If so, one might suggest: perhaps they possess merits?
יְהֹוָה מִשָּׁמַיִם הִשְׁקִיף עַל בְּנֵי אָדָם, לִרְאוֹת הֲיֵשׁ מַשְׂכִּיל דֹּרֵשׁ אֶת אֱלֹהִים׃ - Hashem looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there is any who understands, who seeks God.
To this, David comes and says: Hashem looked down from heaven upon mankind to see if there is anyone who understands. For in truth, even one who appears to our eyes as a positive figure, as one who believes in Hashem, did not believe out of genuinely seeking God through intellect; nor did he seek to comprehend Hashem in His ultimate truth - to know the ways of Hashem and cling to Him. It was entirely lip service: externally he made himself out to be a believer, outwardly he acted as if he acknowledged the Master of the World, but Hashem knows the inner secrets of mankind and the depths of the human heart. Therefore, 'Hashem looked down from heaven' - to see whether that person was truly seeking God. And the Examiner of hearts and minds knows that it is all falsehood, completely devoid of inward truth.
הַכֹּל סָר יַחְדָּו נֶאֱלָחוּ, אֵין עֹשֵׂה טוֹב אֵין גַּם אֶחָד׃ - They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
First, let us examine the plain meaning: 'Sar' here is spelled with a samech, meaning they turned aside from the path, and not 'sar' with a shin in the sense of a government minister (even if one might joke that all the ministers together have become corrupt and cause trouble...). The Malbim explains: even those individuals who ostensibly seemed to possess some belief in Hashem, and who were not outright deniers - they too turned aside from the path, and 'together they have become corrupt' through abominations. 'Ne'elachu' means they became foul and depraved, as in the phrase 'abominable and corrupt' (nitasv vene'elach). To the point that 'there is none who does good, not even one': even that one person whom we saw speaking words of spirituality and giving honor to Hashem - it was all external, all a lie. He, too, does no good; his heart too is full of iniquity, and he too denies Divine Providence.
הֲלֹא יָדְעוּ כָּל פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן, אֹכְלֵי עַמִּי אָכְלוּ לֶחֶם, יְהֹוָה לֹא קָרָאוּ׃ - Do they not know, all the workers of iniquity, who devour My people as they devour bread, and do not call upon Hashem?
שָׁם פָּחֲדוּ פָחַד, כִּי אֱלֹהִים בְּדוֹר צַדִּיק׃ - There they were gripped with great fear, for God is with the righteous generation.
The Malbim reads these verses in direct connection: 'Do they not know, all the workers of iniquity... for God is with the righteous generation.' That is to say, once Hashem performed a miracle for the Jewish people and they were saved from their enemies, all those workers of iniquity - those 'devourers of My people' - came to realize that God is with the righteous generation. You thought the world was ownerless, that you could do whatever you pleased and devour My people - and suddenly it becomes clear to you that God is with the righteous generation; there is One who watches over with individual Divine Providence (hashgachah pratis). And if we apply this to Psalm 53, where the subject is Sancheriv: when he received the immense blow of one hundred and eighty-five thousand army commanders who perished in a single night, through this all the workers of iniquity who came to devour My people realized that God is in this generation, and that He protects His devoted ones.
The Malbim applies the words 'devoured bread' (achlu lechem) to Israel, which is a novel interpretation, as it seems not to follow the cantillation marks (te'amim). There are different approaches among the commentators regarding whether the te'amim are an absolute foundation for understanding Scripture or not. The Malbim maintains that the te'amim provide one direction, but it is possible to interpret Scripture differently as well - for the one who interpreted the text in a certain way was the one who set the cantillation marks in place, and Scripture was not originally written with cantillation marks. In contrast, others reject this entirely, maintaining that every commentary must conform to the te'amim, since the te'amim dictate how to punctuate the verse correctly. Here we have an example: the straightforward understanding according to the te'amim is 'who devour My people as they devour bread' - where an esnachta marks the end of the clause. The Malbim, however, reads: 'Do they not know, all the workers of iniquity, who devour My people' - continuing at the end of the next verse, 'for God is with the righteous generation'; whereas 'they ate bread and did not call upon Hashem' refers back to 'My people' - My people ate bread and did not call upon Hashem. It is as if the word 'My people' serves in both directions.
What does this mean? The Malbim explains based on the Midrash: in the days of David, one hundred young men died each day, and as a result, David instituted one hundred blessings, which halted and averted that terrible decree. We see from here that in the time of David, people were not sufficiently mindful of blessings of praise. The obligation of blessings of praise stems from what the Torah states - the Torah does not explicitly command us to recite "Borei peri ha'etz," "Shehakol," or "Borei peri ha'adamah," but this is derived from the verse, "And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless" (Devarim 8:10), which obligates a person to bless after eating food. From this, the Sages derived that one must bless and thank Hashem for everything He bestows. Furthermore, Chazal deduced through a kal vachomer: if one must recite a blessing after eating and feeling satisfied, certainly one must recite a blessing beforehand. Thus, one must thank Hashem for all His goodness and kindness, both collective and specific - both kindnesses bestowed upon the public and those granted to the individual, for each and every matter. And since they were not meticulous in this during the days of David, one hundred young men died each day. They examined their deeds and recognized the need for rectification, and David instituted one hundred blessings daily, so that a person would set his heart to praise Hashem one hundred times every day. Why specifically one hundred, and how this connects to the one hundred sockets of the Mishkan, has been discussed elsewhere, and we need not enter into it here.
Accordingly, the Malbim explains: "They devour bread, they call not upon Hashem" - initially, they would eat bread without reciting a blessing, eating bread without thanking Hashem, without reciting "Blessed are You, Hashem... Who brings forth bread from the earth." And in consequence: "There they were seized with great dread" - they became terrified of the punishment when they saw the devastation wrought, with one hundred dying each day. They repented, and the Holy One, blessed be He, had mercy upon them and removed the affliction. Notice the stark contrast: the workers of iniquity deny the existence of God entirely, declaring there is no God - the gentile denies Hashem without any fear whatsoever; whereas the people of Israel, merely because they failed to properly thank and praise Hashem, were already struck with dread, repented, and instituted one hundred blessings. Therefore, David says: it is entirely fitting that Hashem assist the Jewish people, who believe in Him to such a degree that they fear even a deficiency in His worship and praise, as opposed to those deniers who utterly reject His existence. And through Hashem punishing the nations and having mercy upon His people, all the workers of iniquity, the devourers of My people, will recognize that God is with the righteous generation, guarding and protecting the righteous.
The Malbim's explanation here diverges somewhat from the literal meaning of the text (peshat), which is somewhat uncharacteristic for him, as he generally adheres very closely to peshat (and certainly, if asked, he would maintain that this is indeed the peshat of the verse). Therefore, let us examine other explanations that align more closely with the literal text. Rashi explains: "Have they no knowledge, all the workers of iniquity" - ultimately, they will know what has befallen them. "Devourers of my people, they have eaten bread" - this refers to the offspring of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, who made a great feast, as it is written: "Belshazzar the king made a great feast" (literally, "bread," Daniel 5:1, as discussed in the lessons on Sefer Daniel). At that feast, a hand emerged and wrote upon the palace wall, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, u-Farsin," and "in that night was Belshazzar slain" (Daniel 5:30). Thus, the "devourers of My people," who sought to consume My nation, "ate bread" - made a feast for themselves, and at that feast "they called not upon Hashem": they gave no thought to Hashem, nor to His wonders and awesome deeds. On the contrary, they brought out the sacred vessels of the Beit HaMikdash to drink from them, proclaiming that the Jewish people would never be redeemed. See to what extent they forgot Hashem! And then, "there they were seized with great dread": a hand emerged and wrote upon the palace wall, and they understood that the celebration was over; and indeed, that very night Belshazzar was killed.
Ibn Ezra explains that the verse is phrased as a question: Did not all the workers of iniquity realize, when they devoured My people as casually as one eats bread? That is, they consumed Israel without any pangs of conscience, with complete nonchalance, just as a person eats bread. A person who eats bread feels no qualms; on the contrary, bread is the very staple and foundation of human sustenance.
There is a wondrous quality about bread that often goes unnoticed: with any other food, if eaten day after day, one eventually grows weary of it and can no longer tolerate it. A mother once related that her son was obsessed with falafel - all he wanted was falafel, begging incessantly: "Mom, make falafel, buy me falafel!" She was at her wit's end. A neighbor advised her: "Feed him falafel morning, noon, and night, until it comes out of his ears and nose." Within a week, it was over; he could no longer bear to look at falafel. Any food eaten consistently becomes tiresome - except for bread. Who has ever seen someone unable to look at bread anymore? Observe what kindness Hashem has performed! Incidentally, the same applies to water - a person never tires of it. Heaven implanted into these basic staples a natural habituation and attraction.
And the gentiles devoured us just as one eats bread, failing to understand that this came from Hashem - that we rebelled against Hashem's word, and He therefore delivered us into their hands. They were convinced that "my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth," claiming "our hand is triumphant," and Hashem they did not call upon. This is the meaning of "they call not upon Hashem": at the very least, you should have understood that if Hashem delivered them into your hands, it indicates that there is a God Who punishes them for their evil deeds, and you should have been inspired to strengthen your own faith. Yet precisely the opposite occurred: He delivered them into your hands, and from this you concluded, "Evidently we are righteous, evidently we are decent people, which is why they were given into our hands." Instead of arriving at spiritual awakening, their heresy was only reinforced.
עֲצַת עָנִי תָבִישׁוּ, כִּי יְהֹוָה מַחְסֵהוּ׃ - You shame the counsel of the poor, for Hashem is his refuge.
You put to shame the counsel of the poor: the Jewish people are like the impoverished, persecuted by the nations, and they did not prepare for war - they have no arsenal, no weapons, and are not equipped for battle. And if you ask them what they rely upon, they answer: "For Hashem is his refuge" - I trust in the Holy One, blessed be He; Hashem will save me, Hashem is my shelter. This was precisely the attitude of Sennacherib, who said: "Lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying: Hashem will deliver us" (Yeshayahu 36:18) - did the gods of the nations save their peoples from my hand? Did the gods of Samaria save them from me? And yet those in Samaria were also Israelites, and they saw that Hashem could not prevail against me, so why do you think He can prevail for you? Thus, the gentiles mocked Israel's trust: we trust in Hashem, and they make a mockery of it - "Hashem, sure, Hashem will help you."
מִי יִתֵּן מִצִּיּוֹן יְשׁוּעַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּשׁוּב יְהֹוָה שְׁבוּת עַמּוֹ, יָגֵל יַעֲקֹב יִשְׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Oh, that from Zion would come the salvation of Israel! When Hashem restores the captivity of His people, Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.
Yet the truth is that when salvation comes from Hashem Who dwells in Zion, the Name of Heaven will be sanctified before the eyes of the nations as well: those mockers will suddenly see that there is a God, and will witness how Hashem saves His people. The Malbim explains that through Ruach HaKodesh, David foresaw the future here as well - the miracle that occurred in the days of Sancheriv, when salvation came forth from Zion and Hashem restored the fortunes of His people. Therefore, this psalm was instituted a second time and sung during that redemption, when Hashem saved them from the hand of Sancheriv, for from Zion - which is Jerusalem - Hashem granted the salvation of Israel. "When Hashem restores the captivity of His people" - meaning He restored them to their former standing; or "shevut" is related to the idea of "in tranquility and rest" (beshuvah vanachat), representing peace and calm.
What is the difference between exultation (gilah) and joy (simchah), and between Jacob and Israel? The Malbim explains this beautifully. Simchah is steady and continuous, whereas gilah is over something sudden, an unexpected event that sparks an outburst of delight. "Israel" represents the Jewish people at their elevated level, a status of nobility and mastery, whereas "Jacob" represents them at their lower level, in the aspect of "ekev" (the heel), a low and humble place. Therefore, "Jacob will exult": for Jacob, the lower level, there will be an outburst of exultation, a fresh wave of excitement, because they did not expect such salvation - they are the masses, who are further from constant cleaving to Hashem, and for them the salvation is a complete novelty: "I did not expect it, and suddenly Hashem saved us!" But Israel, who are always attached and connected to Hashem - "Israel will rejoice": Hashem saved us? That is how He always saves; I was certain that just as He delivered us in the past, He would deliver us now. There is no sudden burst of surprise here, but rather the constant, steady joy of one to whom the truth is clear and who remains attached to Hashem at all times.