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Psalm 33:16
There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
14From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15he who fashions all of their hearts; and he considers all of their works.
16There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power.
18Behold, the LORD’s eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness,
Notice
A king's army and a warrior's strength expose how fragile safety becomes when it rests on having enough power.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What makes the king's large army an appealing picture of safety to you?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Zechariah 4:6Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the LORD’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD of …Both passages challenge confidence in human might; Zechariah names God's Spirit as the source of help.
Judges 7:4The LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. It shall be, that those whom I …The psalm denies that army size saves a king, while God tells Gideon that his force still has too many people.
Psalm 44:3For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, …Both passages deny that human strength saves; Psalm 44 credits God's arm and favor for possession of the land.
Isaiah 40:30Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;The mighty man's inability to secure deliverance shares a limit with Isaiah's young men: even strong people can fail.
Jeremiah 9:23The LORD says, “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom. Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches.Both passages challenge confidence in might: strength cannot secure deliverance, and the mighty man is told against boasting in it.
Psalm 44:6–7For I will not trust in my bow, neither will my sword save me.Both psalms reject military power as a source of salvation, whether an army, a bow, or a sword.
Judges 7:2The LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel brag against me, saying, ‘My own …God reduces Gideon's force to prevent Israel from claiming self-deliverance, matching the psalm's denial that a large army saves.
Jeremiah 48:14“How do you say, ‘We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war’?Jeremiah questions a claim to military might, while the psalm denies that such might delivers.
Hosea 10:13You have plowed wickedness. You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, for you trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty men.Hosea names trust in numerous mighty men among Israel's wrongs; the psalm denies that numbers or might can save.
Judges 7:12The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as …Both texts describe military multitudes, though Judges here depicts the army's size without stating what that size can secure.
2 Chronicles 32:8–9An arm of flesh is with him, but the LORD our God is with us to help us and to fight our battles.” The people rested themselves on the words of Hezekiah king …Both passages limit confidence in human military strength; Hezekiah directs his people's confidence toward the LORD's help.
1 Samuel 17:45–49Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God …David faces weapons in the LORD's name, sharing the psalm's refusal to treat military strength as decisive.
Where this verse fits
Fear for the future. leadership weight. anxiety or panic.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Your limits do not place you beyond God's sight. The surrounding lines turn from armies and strength to YHWH, whose eye is on those who hope in his loving kindness.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).