Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 105:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 105:15: The royal wording “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” stays inside the ancient kingship movement “Remember covenant acts from Abraham to exodus: Covenant with the ancestors.”
The covenant is remembered as word, oath, and land promised to a few strangers
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 105:7–15. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 105:7–15
- Psalms 105:1–45
Read Psalms 105:15 with 105:7–15 and 105:1–45. Read alone, “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 105:7–15, the communal voice carries the movement “Covenant with the ancestors” as part of “Remember covenant acts from Abraham to exodus.” Its historical-hymn form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 105:7–15 reconsiders through remembered material “Call to praise and remember” within Psalm 105 by carrying “Covenant with the ancestors.” The turn from “O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen” to “He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth” explains why this movement occurs here. Within that relationship, Psalm 105:15 contributes royal language through “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” inside the psalm's ancient kingship horizon.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 105:7–15; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 105:7–15, the communal voice carries the movement “Covenant with the ancestors” as part of “Remember covenant acts from Abraham to exodus.” Its historical-hymn form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The selected retelling serves worship and covenant memory; it is not a complete chronology or a land entitlement for modern political violence.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 105:15 does not allow “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse contributes royal language through “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” inside the psalm's ancient kingship horizon. The complete movement is “Covenant with the ancestors.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The selected retelling serves worship and covenant memory; it is not a complete chronology or a land entitlement for modern political violence.
What Remains True
The lasting force of “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” comes through Psalms 105:7–15 and Book IV, not isolation. Human rule is answerable to the LORD and is measured by justice, especially protection of poor and vulnerable people, rather than by power or sacred slogans. The local movement is “Covenant with the ancestors.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The selected retelling serves worship and covenant memory; it is not a complete chronology or a land entitlement for modern political violence.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because Psalm 105:15 belongs to “Remember covenant acts from Abraham to exodus: Covenant with the ancestors,” its role must lead the practice: Psalm 105:15 contributes royal language through “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” inside the psalm's ancient kingship horizon. Let “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm” question concentrated power: examine whether actual policies protect poor people and restrain violence rather than baptizing authority.
Teach It Back
Explain why Psalm 105:15 cannot stand alone. Quote “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm,” use the full 105:7–15, describe the communal voice and “Covenant with the ancestors,” distinguish first horizon from later reception, and state why This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The selected retelling serves worship and covenant memory; it is not a complete chronology or a land entitlement for modern political violence.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 105:7–15 — Remember covenant acts from Abraham to exodus: Covenant with the ancestorsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 105:7–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 105:7–15
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 105:7–15.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 105 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 105:7–15
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 105:7–15
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 105 for Psalms 105:7–15
Open NETS Psalms ↗