but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
- KJV But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
- NKJV But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
- NASB but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem.
- NLT but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.
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
David, though already anointed and serving at Saul's court, still humbly returns to tend his father's sheep. His faithfulness in small, hidden duties prepares him for greater service.
Overview
David moves between Saul's court (where he had played the harp) and the obscure work of shepherding at Bethlehem. The detail underscores his lowliness and ordinary obedience even after being anointed king in chapter 16. Shepherding shapes the man God will raise up, and points forward to Christ, the true Shepherd-King born in the same town of Bethlehem.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Sam 16:11And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
- 1 Sam 16:19–23So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
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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 17:15 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
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