1 Samuel 17:27
in 1 Samuel 17The people told him about the offer, saying, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
KJV
And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
To the man who kills him the king will give great riches
on 1 Samuel 17:25-27
Saul has posted a price, great riches, his daughter, and his father’s house exempt from taxation. David’s question turns the camp’s words inside out, the soldiers saying "this man" and David saying "this uncircumcised Philistine," and the armies of Israel become "the armies of the living God" in his mouth. It is the first theological sentence spoken in the chapter, and it comes from its youngest man.
This site's exposition
That is what will be done for the man who kills him
John Gill lists what the people repeated to David: riches, the king's daughter and a father's house set free, as verse 25 gave it. David hears the same answer twice, here and at verse 30. The promise is public, and Saul is bound by it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
If you don't mind, however, let us refer to a theme in our preaching earlier, so that by bringing the whole story to mind we may learn that nothing is stronger than the person protected by help from on high, and nothing is more vulnerable than the person deprived of this help, surrounded though he may be with countless armies. So this man David, quite young though he was and living in his father's house on account of his immaturity, heard the call of destiny for his virtue to become conspicuous; he was urged by his father to observe his brothers; he obeyed and was sent off to them. So, after coming on the scene to observe them, he saw the battle line drawn against the foreigner Goliath and the whole people of Saul's company withdrawing in fright and the king himself placed in particular danger. For a while he was happy to be an onlooker and went to see the strange and unusual sight of one person pitted against so many thousands. But his brothers could not tolerate the manliness of his bearing; they were moved to hatred and said to him, "Have you come for no other reason than to see the war." You haven't really come to observe us.Notice, however, his good sense and great restraint. Instead of saying anything rash to them, anything harsh, he extinguished the flame of their hatred; he mollified their hatred by saying, "Isn't it only a word?" I mean, surely you haven't observed me taking position in the ranks? I simply wanted to watch and find out the source of this man's extraordinary frenzy. "After all, who is this foreigner who reproaches the ranks of the living God?" Then, on hearing the man's awful arrogance and the unspeakable cowardice of those who had gone with Saul, he said, "What will be given to the man who cuts off his head?" He showed great boldness of spirit through these words and caused amazement in every one. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
The people, however, reported to him the same word, etc. With the Lord clearly teaching, and proclaiming the ejection and downfall of the prince of the world, all the people indeed, as the evangelist recalls, were amazed, hearing him: but the envious lawyers and chief …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the people answered him after this manner,.... Told him what was proposed to be done in honour to the man that should attempt to kill him, and succeed: saying, so shall it be done to the man that killeth him; as before related, that he should be enriched, marry the king's daughter, and his family be ennobled, 1Sa 17:25.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and it said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| כַּדָּבָ֥ר | kadavar | according to the manner | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּ֣ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יֵעָשֶׂ֔ה | yeaseh | it will be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָאִ֖ישׁ | laish | for the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַכֶּֽנּוּ׃ | yakenu | he will strike down him | H5221 → | 499 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand it said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לוֹ֙to <the> him
lo
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
כַּדָּבָ֥רaccording to the manner
kadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
כֹּ֣הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
יֵעָשֶׂ֔הit will be done
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
לָאִ֖ישׁfor the man
laishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַכֶּֽנּוּ׃he will strike down him
yakenuH5221 →499 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 17:25Now 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…
it leads to
- Joshua 15:16
And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”
- Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
- Revelation 3:12
The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the…
- Revelation 3:5
Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His…
- Matthew 17:26
“From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus declared.
- Joshua 15:16
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel

This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 46.9-10; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).
