1 Samuel17
English Standard Version
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1 Now the their for . And they were at , belongs to , and and , in .
2 And and the of were , and in the of , and in line of the .
3 And the on the the side, and on the the side, with a them.
4 And there the of the a , whose was and a .
5 He had a of his , and he was with a of , and the of the was of .
6 And he had on his , and a of slung his .
7 The of his was like a , and his weighed of . And his shield- him.
8 He and to the of , have you to for ? Am I a , and are you of ? a for yourselves, and let him to me.
9 he is to with me and me, then we will be your . But I against him and him, then you shall be our and us.
10 And the , I the of . me a , that we may .
11 When and of the , they were and .
12 Now was the of an in , , who had . In the of the was already and in .
13 The of had to the . And the of his to the were the , and to him , and the .
14 was the . The ,
15 but from to his at .
16 For the and , and .
17 And to his , for your an of , and , and carry them to the to your .
18 Also these to the of their . if your are , and some from them.
19 Now and they and the of were in the of , the .
20 And in the and the with a and the provisions and , had him. And he to the as the was going to the , shouting the .
21 And and the drew up for , .
22 And the in of the of the and to the and and his .
23 As he them, , the , the of , by , out of the of the and the as before. And him.
24 the of , when they the , and were .
25 And the of , Have you who has ? he has to . And the will the him with and will him his and his in .
26 And to the who him, shall be for the and takes the from ? is , he should the of the ?
27 And the him in the , shall it be to the who him.
28 Now his when he to the . And was against , and he , have you ? And have you in the ? I your and the of your , you have to the .
29 And , have I ? Was it but a ?
30 And he , and in the , and the him as .
31 When the that were , they them , and he for him.
32 And to , Let because him. Your will and .
33 And to , You are to against to him, you are but a , and he has been a of his .
34 But to , Your used to for his . And when there a , or a , and a from the ,
35 I him and him and it out his . And if he me, I him by his and him and him.
36 Your has and , and shall be like them, he has the of the .
37 And , The Lord me from the of the and from the of the will me from the of this . And to , , and the Lord be you!
38 Then with his . He a of his and him with a ,
39 and his his . And he tried in to , he had them. Then to , I with , I have them. So put them .
40 Then he his in his and the and them . His was in his , and he the .
41 And the and to , with his shield- in front him.
42 And when the and , he him, he was but a , and in .
43 And the to , Am I a , you to me with ? And the by his .
44 The to , to me, and I will your to the of the and to the of the .
45 Then to the , You to me with a and with a and with a , but I to you in the of the Lord of , the of the of , you have .
46 the Lord will you into my , and I will and cut your . And I will the of the of the to the of the and to the of the , that the may there a in ,
47 and that may the Lord with and . the is the Lord ’s, and he will you into our .
48 When the and and drew to , toward the to the .
49 And his in his and out a and it and the on his . The into his , and he his to the .
50 So the with a and with a , and the and him. There was in the of .
51 Then and over the and his and it out its and him and his with it. When the their was , they .
52 And the of and with a and the as the of , so that the the from as and .
53 And the of from the , and they their .
54 And the of the and it to , but he his in his .
55 As soon as the , he to , the of the , , is ? And , As your , O , I do .
56 And the , the is.
57 And as soon as from the of the , him, and him with the of the in his .
58 And to him, are you, ? And , I am the of your the .
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1 Samuel 17Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Samuel 17. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Goliath's challenge. (1–11). David comes to the camp. (12–30). David undertakes to fight Goliath. (31–39). and goes to meet him. (40–47). He kills Goliath. (48–58).
vv1-11
Men so entirely depend upon God in all things, that when he withdraws his help, the most valiant and resolute cannot find their hearts or hands, as daily experience shows.
vv12-30
Jesse little thought of sending his son to the army at that critical juncture; but the wise God orders actions and affairs, so as to serve his designs. In times of general formality and lukewarmness, every degree of zeal which implies readiness to go further, or to venture more in the cause of God than others, will be blamed as pride and ambition, and by none more than by near relations, like Eliab, or negligent superiors. It was a trial of David's meekness, patience, and constancy. He had right and reason on his side, and did not render railing for railing; with a soft answer he turned away his brother's wrath. This conquest of his own passion was more honourable than that of Goliath. Those who undertake great and public services, must not think it strange if they are spoken ill of, and opposed by those from whom they expect support and assistance. They must humbly go on with their work, in the face not only of enemies' threats, but of friends' slights and suspicions.
vv31-39
A shepherd lad, come the same morning from keeping sheep, had more courage than all the mighty men of Israel. Thus God often sends good words to his Israel, and does great things for them, by the weak and foolish things of the world. As he had answered his brother's passion with meekness, so David answered Saul's fear with faith. When David kept sheep, he proved himself very careful and tender of his flock. This reminds us of Christ, the good Shepherd, who not only ventured, but laid down his life for the sheep. Our experience ought to encourage us to trust in God, and be bold in the way of duty. He that has delivered, does and will continue to do so. David gained leave to fight the Philistine. Not being used to such armour as Saul put upon him, he was not satisfied to go in that manner; this was from the Lord, that it might more plainly appear he fought and conquered in faith, and that the victory was from Him who works by the feeblest and most despised means and instruments. It is not to be inquired how excellent any thing is, but how proper. Let Saul's coat be ever so rich, and his armour ever so strong, what is David the better if they fit him not? But faith, prayer, truth, and righteousness; the whole armour of God, and the mind that was in Christ; are equally needful for all the servants of the Lord, whatever may be their work.
Key Words
פְּלִשְׁתִּי: a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth
אָסַף: to gather for any purpose; hence, to receive, take away, i.e. remove (destroy, leave behind, put up, restore, etc.)
מַחֲנֶה: an encampment (of travellers or troops); hence, an army, whether literal (of soldiers) or figurative (of dancers, angels, cattle, locusts, stars; or even the sacred courts)
מִלְחָמָה: a battle (i.e. the engagement); generally, war (i.e. warfare)
שׂוֹכֹה: Sokoh or Soko, the name of two places in Palestine
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
יְהוּדָה: Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory
חָנָה: properly, to incline; by implication, to decline (of the slanting rays of evening); specifically, to pitch atent; gen. to encamp (for abode or siege)
בֵּין: between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles); also as a conjunction, either...or
עֲזֵקָה: Azekah, a place in Palestine
Cross References
1 Samuel 17David defeats Goliath with his own sword, prefiguring Christ destroying the devil through death.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Establishes David's identity as the youngest son of Jesse who was left to keep the sheep.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
God chose David from the sheepfolds to feed Jacob His people, matching his return to feed sheep.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Mentions another giant from Gath slain by David's men, showcasing the ongoing giant conflict.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Frames the chapter by connecting David's initial introduction to his final self-identification to Saul.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Like Joseph, David is sent by his father to check on the welfare of his brethren.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Echoes Jonathan's faith that the Lord can save by many or by few against uncircumcised Philistines.
Supported by Matthew Poole
David's defense of his flock from predators prefigures Christ, the Good Shepherd, laying down His life.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Geographical confirmation locating Socoh in the lowlands of the inheritance of Judah.
Supported by JFB
Saul's attempts to clothe David in heavy bronze armor parallel Goliath's worldly, heavy armaments.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies Ephrath as Bethlehem, grounding Jesse's ancestral home in patriarchal history.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrasts Saul's human assessment of David's youth with David's faith-fueled confidence.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
God uses weak and foolish instruments, like smooth stones, to shame the mighty and boastful.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Hushai describes David and his men as mighty men chafed in their minds like a robbed bear.
Supported by JFB
David immediately fulfills his prophecy to decapitate the Philistine champion.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Saul's unfamiliarity with David's parentage raises chronological questions compared to David's previous court service.
Supported by Matthew Poole