Psalms 33:17
15 He shapes the hearts of each; He considers all their works.
16 No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.
18 Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion
19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.
- KJV
- An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
- WEB
- A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power.
- ASV
- A horse is a vain thing for safety; Neither doth he deliver any by his great power.
- DARBY
- The horse is a vain thing for safety; neither doth he deliver by his great power.
- BLB
- [His] horse [is] a false [thing] for salvation, and in the abundance of its strength it cannot provide escape.
- ÅB
- Hesten er ikke å stole på til redning,
og med sin store styrke berger den ikke. - OTB
- En hest er et fåfengt håp om seier;
Den redder ikke ved sin store styrke. - B1930
- Hesten er ikke å stole på til frelse, og med sin store styrke redder den ikke.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Proverbs 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
Read in contextPsalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Read in contextPsalms 147:10
He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man.
Read in contextJob 39:19–25
Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
Read in contextHosea 14:3
Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
Read in contextIsaiah 30:16
“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
Read in contextEcclesiastes 9:11
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
Read in context2 Kings 7:6–7
For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
Read in context