1 Samuel 17:33
in 1 Samuel 17But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
KJV
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Now David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul
on 1 Samuel 17:31-33
David's words travel up the chain of command because no one else in the camp is saying anything like them. Saul's objection is arithmetic, "You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth," and by the camp's arithmetic Saul is right. The chapter is built to show that the camp's arithmetic is the wrong ledger.
This site's exposition
You are just a boy
Adam Clarke puts David's age here at twenty-two or twenty-three. Matthew Henry notes that David answers Saul's fear with faith, as he had just answered his brother's anger with meekness.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Saul said to David: You are not able to resist this Philistine, etc. This is the trembling of the weak, or even the resistance of the proud. Can this one engage in battle against the strength of the devil, which belongs solely to the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and how canst thou expect but that he will be too hard for thee?" David, as he had answered his brother's passion with meekness, so he answered Saul's fear with faith, and gives a reason of the hope which was in him that he should conquer the Philistine, to the satisfaction of Saul.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou art but a youth - Supposed to be about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֜וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּוִ֗ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תוּכַל֙ | tukhal | you will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֣י | hapelishti | the Philistine | H6430 → | 287 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם | lehilachem | to fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עִמּ֑וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נַ֣עַר | naar | [are] a youth | H5288 → | 239 times |
| אַ֔תָּה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְה֛וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [is] a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֖ה | milchamah | war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| מִנְּעֻרָֽיו׃ ס | mineurav | since youth<s> his | H5271 → |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֜וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דָּוִ֗דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תוּכַל֙you will be able
tukhalH3201 →194 times
לָלֶ֙כֶת֙to go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֣יthe Philistine
hapelishtiH6430 →287 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
לְהִלָּחֵ֖םto fight
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
עִמּ֑וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נַ֣עַר[are] a youth
naarH5288 →239 times
אַ֔תָּהyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וְה֛וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
אִ֥ישׁ[is] a man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִלְחָמָ֖הwar
milchamahH4421 →320 times
מִנְּעֻרָֽיו׃ סsince youth<s> his
mineuravH5271 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Numbers 13:31But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:28
Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw…
- Joshua 14:8
Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God.
- Hebrews 3:19
So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.
- Numbers 32:9
For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
- Deuteronomy 1:28
Through
Revelation 13:4They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
it leads to
- Revelation 13:2
The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
- Revelation 18:18
and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.
- Revelation 13:2
Through
1 Samuel 17:42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:12
So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.”
- 1 Samuel 16:12
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.