When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were terrified.
- KJV And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
- NKJV And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.
- NASB When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were very fearful.
- NLT As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.
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
At the sight of Goliath, all Israel's men flee in terror. The contrast between their fear and David's coming faith is stark.
Overview
Israel's entire army, including the king, retreats in dread before the giant. Their terror reveals that they reckon only with Goliath's size and not with God's power. This collective fear sets in sharp relief the faith David will display, teaching that those who walk by sight are overcome where those who walk by faith prevail.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Num 13:33We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
- Lev 26:36As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
- Deut 32:30How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- 1 Sam 13:6–7Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
- 1 Sam 17:11On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.
- Isa 7:2When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
- Isa 30:17A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.
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 17:24 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.