Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
Parallel translations
- WEB The Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel today! Give me a man, that we may fight together!”
- KJV And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
- NKJV And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”
- NASB Then the Philistine said, “I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.”
- NLT I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Goliath defies the armies of Israel and demands a man to fight. His taunt is ultimately a challenge against Israel's God.
Overview
Goliath's defiance, repeated morning and evening, is not merely against Israel's soldiers but against the living God they represent. His blasphemous challenge frames the conflict as a contest over whose God is supreme. David will rightly perceive this as an affront to the LORD that demands an answer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Sam 17:25–26Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxation in Israel.”
- 1 Sam 17:45But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
- 1 Sam 17:36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- Neh 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
- 2 Sam 21:21and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David’s brother Shimei killed him.
- Num 23:7–8And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
- Job 40:9–12Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His?
- Ps 9:4–5For You have upheld my just cause; You sit on Your throne judging righteously.
- Prov 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Dan 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
- Jer 9:23This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- 2 Sam 23:9Next in command was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty men, he went with David to taunt the Philistines who had gathered for battle at Pas-dammim. The men of Israel retreated,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 17:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.