Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- BSB Your 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.”
- NKJV Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- NASB Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- NLT I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
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 reasons that Goliath will fall like the lion and bear, because he has defied the living God. His confidence is grounded in God's honor, not his own prowess.
Overview
David draws the lesson from his past deliverances: the God who saved him before will save him again against this uncircumcised Philistine who defies Israel's living God. He sees Goliath as no different from the wild beasts because the same God will grant victory. His focus on God's offended honor, not merely the threat, fuels his fearless faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Sam 17:10And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
- 1 Sam 17:26And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
- Acts 5:38–39And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
- Isa 10:15Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
- Ezek 32:19Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
- Isa 36:8–10Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
- Rom 2:28–29For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
- Isa 36:18Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
- Isa 36:15Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
- Acts 12:22–23And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
- Zech 2:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
- Zech 12:3And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
- Isa 37:22–23This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
- Isa 37:28–29But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.
- Acts 12:1–2Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
- Ezek 32:27–32And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
- Acts 9:4–5And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
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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 17:36 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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