New Living Translation
Psalms 33:17
17Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory— for all its strength, it cannot save you.
Psalms 33:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
- New International Version (NIV)A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.
- New King James Version (NKJV)A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
Context of Psalms 33:17
15He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. 16The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory— for all its strength, it cannot save you. 18But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. 19He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.
Read all of Psalms 33Psalms 33:17 word by word
שֶׁ֣קֶר הַ֭סּוּס לִתְשׁוּעָ֑ה וּבְרֹ֥ב חֵ֝יל֗וֹ לֹ֣א יְמַלֵּֽט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 33:17
- Psalms 20:7Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
- Judges 4:15When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot.
- 2 Kings 7:6For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!” they cried to one another.
- Proverbs 21:31The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.
- Isaiah 30:16You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!
- Hosea 14:3Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.”
- Psalms 147:10He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might.
- Job 39:19“Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?
Commentaries on Psalms 33:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17A horse is a vain thing for safety - Even the horse, with all his fleetness, is no sure means of escape from danger: the lion or the tiger can overtake him or he may stumble, fall, and destroy his rider.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17An horse - The reference here is undoubtedly to the war-horse. See the notes at Psalm 20:7. Is a vain thing - literally, is a “lie.” That is, he cannot be confided in. For safety - For securing safety in battle. He is liable to be stricken down, or to become wild and furious so as to be beyond the control of his rider; and however strong or fleet he may be, or however well he may be “broken,” yet none of these things make it certain that the rider will be…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 All the motions and operations of the souls of men, which no mortals know but themselves, God knows better than they do. Their hearts, as well as their times, are all in his hand; he formed the spirit of each man within him. All the powers of the creature depend upon him, and are of no account, of no avail at all, without him. If we make God's favour sure towards us, then we need not fear whatever is against us. We are to give to him the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-17army …great strength. … horse: Even military power is under God's control (see Psalm 33:10–11; Ecclesiastes 9:11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1912-19. The inference from the foregoing in Psa 33:12 is illustrated by God's special providence, underlying which is His minute knowledge of all men.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 33:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 33
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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