Passage
“Do not touch My anointed ones, And against My prophets do no evil.”
1 Chronicles 16:22 (LSB)
Nearby Context
1 Chronicles 16:20 And they wandered about from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people,
1 Chronicles 16:21 He permitted no man to oppress them, And He reproved kings for their sakes,
1 Chronicles 16:22 “Do not touch My anointed ones, And against My prophets do no evil.”
1 Chronicles 16:23 Sing to Yahweh, all the earth; Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day.
1 Chronicles 16:24 Recount His glory among the nations, His wondrous deeds among all the peoples.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "touch", "anointed", "ones", "against", "prophets", and "evil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "touch" and "anointed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 21's "He permitted no man to oppress them..." into verse 23's "Sing to Yahweh all the earth Proclaim...", so "touch" and "anointed" belong inside that flow. In 1 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "touch" and "anointed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.