Psalms 33:16

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

No king is delivered by his vast army; a warrior is not saved by his great might.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֵֽין־הַ֭מֶּלֶךְ נוֹשָׁ֣ע בְּרָב־חָ֑יִל גִּ֝בּ֗וֹר לֹֽא־יִנָּצֵ֥ל בְּרָב־כֹּֽחַ׃

Transliteration

No the-meleḵ nôšāʿ by-great-ḥayil gibbôr not-yinnāṣēl by-great-kōaḥ

Grammar Details

• *ʾên*: particle of negation - no/not
• *ha-meleḵ*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the king
• *nôšāʿ*: niphal participle, masculine singular - being saved/delivered
• *bə-rāb*: masculine singular adjective with preposition *bə-* (by/with) - by great/abundance of
• *ḥayil*: masculine singular noun - army/force/strength
• *gibbôr*: masculine singular adjective/noun - mighty man/warrior
• *lōʾ*: negative particle - not
• *yinnāṣēl*: niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - is delivered/rescued
• *kōaḥ*: masculine singular noun - strength/power

Word Meanings

• *meleḵ*: king/ruler/sovereign
• *nôšāʿ*: being saved/delivered/rescued
• *ḥayil*: army/force/strength/wealth/power
• *gibbôr*: mighty man/warrior/hero/champion
• *yinnāṣēl*: is delivered/rescued/saved/escapes
• *kōaḥ*: strength/power/might/force

Referenced Verses

• Exod 14:17-18 : 17 And as for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will come after them, that I may be honored because of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I have gained my honor because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
• Exod 14:28 : 28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea– not so much as one of them survived!
• Josh 11:4-8 : 4 These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots. 5 All these kings gathered and joined forces at the Waters of Merom to fight Israel. 6 The LORD told Joshua,“Don’t be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to lie dead before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” 7 Joshua and his whole army caught them by surprise at the Waters of Merom and attacked them. 8 The LORD handed them over to Israel and they struck them down and chased them all the way to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the Mizpah Valley to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained.
• Josh 14:12 : 12 Now, assign me this hill country which the LORD promised me at that time! No doubt you heard at that time that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities. But, assuming the LORD is with me, I will conquer them, as the LORD promised.”
• Judg 7:2 : 2 The LORD said to Gideon,“You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag,‘Our own strength has delivered us.’
• Judg 7:12-25 : 12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said,“Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” 14 The other man said,“Without a doubt this symbolizes the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.” 15 Gideon Routs the Enemy When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said,“Get up, for the LORD is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. 17 He said to them,“Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do! 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say,‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’” 19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying. 20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. Then they yelled,“A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 They stood in order all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. 22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the LORD caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords throughout the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. 24 Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced,“Go down and head off the Midianites. Take control of the fords of the streams all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” When all the Ephraimites had assembled, they took control of the fords all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River. 25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River.
• 1 Sam 14:8-9 : 8 Jonathan replied,“All right! We’ll go over to these men and fight them. 9 If they say to us,‘Stay put until we approach you,’ we will stay right there and not go up to them. 10 But if they say,‘Come up against us,’ we will go up. For in that case the LORD has given them into our hand– it will be a sign to us.” 11 When they made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said,“Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.” 12 Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer,“Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!” Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer,“Come up behind me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel!” 13 Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines, while his armor bearer came along behind him and killed them. 14 In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre. 15 Then fear overwhelmed those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God. 16 Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin looked on as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another.
• 1 Sam 17:4 : 4 Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall.
• 1 Sam 17:45-49 : 45 But David replied to the Philistine,“You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! 46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God, 47 and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves! For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.” 48 The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. 49 David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground.
• 2 Sam 21:16-22 : 16 Now Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, had a spear that weighed three hundred bronze shekels, and he was armed with a new weapon. He had said that he would kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to David’s aid, striking the Philistine down and killing him. Then David’s men took an oath saying,“You will not go out to battle with us again! You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel!” 18 Later there was another battle with the Philistines, this time in Gob. On that occasion Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of Rapha. 19 Yet another battle occurred with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Elhanan the son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 Yet another battle occurred in Gath. On that occasion there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha. 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, killed him. 22 These four were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they were killed by David and his soldiers.
• 1 Kgs 20:10 : 10 Ben Hadad sent another message to him,“May the gods judge me severely if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for all my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.”
• 1 Kgs 20:27-29 : 27 When the Israelites had mustered and had received their supplies, they marched out to face them in battle. When the Israelites deployed opposite them, they were like two small flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the land. 28 The prophet visited the king of Israel and said,“This is what the LORD has said:‘Because the Syrians said,“The LORD is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,” I will deliver this entire huge army into to your control. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 29 The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began, and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day.
• 2 Chr 14:9-9 : 9 Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah, 10 and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. 11 Asa prayed to the LORD his God:“O LORD, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. O LORD, you are our God; don’t let men prevail against you!” 12 The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; they were shattered before the LORD and his army. The men of Judah carried off a huge amount of plunder.
• 2 Chr 20:12 : 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.”
• 2 Chr 20:23 : 23 The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the men from Mount Seir and annihilated them. When they had finished off the men of Seir, they attacked and destroyed one another.
• 2 Chr 32:8-9 : 8 He has with him mere human strength, but the LORD our God is with us to help us and fight our battles!” The army was encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah. 9 Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read:
• 2 Chr 32:21 : 21 The LORD sent a messenger and he wiped out all the soldiers, princes, and officers in the army of the king of Assyria. So Sennacherib returned home humiliated. When he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.
• Ps 44:3 : 3 For they did not conquer the land by their swords, and they did not prevail by their strength, but rather by your power, strength and good favor, for you were partial to them.
• Ps 44:6-7 : 6 For I do not trust in my bow, and I do not prevail by my sword. 7 For you deliver us from our enemies; you humiliate those who hate us.
• Jer 9:23 : 23 The LORD says,“Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich.