What Does Psalm 14:2 Mean in the King James?
The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse makes seeking God the visible shape of understanding.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s gaze reaches across humanity, searching for anyone whose understanding takes the form of seeking God. The verse speaks now: insight is a living orientation toward God, not information held at a distance.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that knowing religious ideas is itself understanding; here, understanding is shown in seeking God.
THE ROOT
דֹּרֵשׁ
doresh
GROWS FROM
דרש
To seek, inquire, or resort to.
“seek” in this verse is doresh. The seeker here is engaged in an active search, not a passing glance toward God. This root lets seeking hold both pursuit and inquiry, so understanding appears as a movement toward what is sought.
ALSO GROWS
darash: To seek, inquire, or investigate.
דָּרַשׁ
This verb form shares the seed of the verse’s seeker, making seeking an active pursuit.
midrash: Inquiry or exposition.
מִדְרָשׁ
The related word for inquiry shows how seeking can include an effort to understand.
מַשְׂכִּיל
maskil
GROWS FROM
שכל
To act wisely, show insight, or exercise discernment.
“understand” in this verse is maskil. This word points to active discernment, not simply possession of information. Beside seeking God, it presents wisdom as an orientation that becomes visible in pursuit.
ALSO GROWS
sekel: Understanding, insight, or prudence.
שֵׂכֶל
The related noun shows that this root holds discernment as well as wise action.
hiskil: Act wisely, understand, or prosper.
הִשְׂכִּיל
This verb form brings understanding into action, echoing the verse’s link between insight and seeking.
הִשְׁקִיף
hishqif
GROWS FROM
שׁקף
To look out, peer, or gaze down.
“looked down” in this verse is hishqif. The verb pictures a deliberate, directional gaze from above. The LORD’s seeing is an attentive search into human life, focused on whether understanding and seeking are present.
ALSO GROWS
vayyashqef: He looked toward or gazed out.
וַיַּשְׁקֵף
The same root gives the verse’s downward gaze its sense of directed attention.
hashqifah: Look down.
הַשְׁקִיפָה
This related form keeps the root’s image of a gaze from above.
THE PATTERN
Seeking God is the active expression of understanding, joined to life, finding, and approach.
For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.THE THREAD
For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:Psalm’s דֹּרֵשׁ (doresh, “one seeking”) and Amos’s דִּרְשׁוּנִי (dirshuni, “seek me”) share the root דָּרַשׁ (darash, “seek, inquire”). Amos joins that same search to life, opening the Psalm’s question toward a living consequence.
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