And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.
Parallel translations
- WEB David grew greater and greater; for Yahweh, the God of Armies, was with him.
- BSB And David became greater and greater, for the LORD God of Hosts was with him.
- NKJV So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.
- NASB David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of armies was with him.
- NLT And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him.
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 grows ever greater because the Lord of Armies is with him. His success is credited wholly to God's presence.
Overview
The narrator sums up David's rise: he became greater and greater, and the reason given is that the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. David's strength flows not from his own ability but from divine favor. This theme runs through Scripture, that true greatness comes from God's accompanying presence, supremely fulfilled in Christ with whom the Father was always pleased.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 2 Sam 3:1Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
- Rom 8:31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
- Ps 46:11The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Isa 9:7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
- Luke 2:52And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
- Ps 46:7The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Dan 2:44–45And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
- Prov 4:18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
- Job 17:9The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
- Isa 8:9–10Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
- Gen 21:22And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 5:10 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
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