Psalms 53:2

2 God looks down from heaven at people to see if there are any who are wise, any who worship him.

Psalms 53:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 53:2

God looked down from heaven upon the children of men
In ( Psalms 14:2 ) , it is read, "the Lord" or "Jehovah"; in everything else there is an agreement in this verse; (See Gill on Psalms 14:2);

to see if there were [any] that did understand;
the Targum is, "that were understanding" in the law; it doubtless means understanding in divine and spiritual things;

that did seek God;
the above paraphrase is, "seeking doctrine from before the Lord".

Psalms 53:2 In-Context

1 Fools say to themselves, "There is no God." They are all corrupt, and they have done terrible things; there is no one who does what is right.
2 God looks down from heaven at people to see if there are any who are wise, any who worship him.
3 But they have all turned away; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.
4 "Don't they know?" God asks. "Are these evildoers ignorant? They live by robbing my people, and they never pray to me."
5 But then they will become terrified, as they have never been before, for God will scatter the bones of the enemies of his people. God has rejected them, and so Israel will totally defeat them.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.