📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 16:22
What does 1 Chronicles 16:22 mean?
"“Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!”"
— 1 Chronicles 16:22 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
when you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners were in it.
They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
He allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
“Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!”
Sing to Yahweh, all the earth! Display his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, and his marvelous works among all the peoples.
For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods.
Explanation
First Chronicles 16:22 records words of divine warning spoken in the middle of a song of thanksgiving. In plain language, the verse has God declaring that no one should lay a hand on "my anointed ones" or bring harm to "my prophets." It is presented as God's own voice, protecting a group of people he considers specially his own, guarding them from mistreatment by those around them.
This verse comes from the psalm David composed and gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites to sing when the ark of the covenant was brought into Jerusalem and placed in the tent David had prepared for it (1 Chronicles 16:1-7). The song recounts God's faithfulness to
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