Bible Strands
Psalms 21:11
Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the king in the moment of his triumph, turning from the king's victory to the fate of his enemies. The speaker is a worshipper or the congregation, speaking to the king about his adversaries.
The words — מְזִמָּה (mĕzimmāh) is a substantive noun meaning "a scheme" or "a plotted conspiracy," denoting a deliberate, coordinated plot rather than a passing impulse.
The thread — The futility of human schemes against God's purposes recurs in Psalms 2:1 (nations plot in vain) and Psalms 10:2 (the wicked caught in the schemes they devise), while Psalms 31:13 shows the same plotting from the victim's side.
Why it lands — The verse does not comfort by promising the king safety; it declares that the enemies' own plans are structurally incapable of succeeding. It asks the reader to stop treating opposition to God's purposes as a genuine threat.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
Cross-references
- Psalms 10:2 In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.
- Psalms 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
- Psalms 31:13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
- Jeremiah 11:18 And the LORD informed me, so I knew. Then You showed me their deeds.
- Isaiah 7:6 ‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’
- Isaiah 8:9 Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
- Matthew 2:16 When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
- Matthew 28:2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
- Acts 4:17 But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”
- Psalms 35:20 For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.