1 Samuel 17:39
in 1 Samuel 17David strapped his sword over the tunic and tried to walk, but he was not accustomed to them. “I cannot walk in these,” David said to Saul. “I am not accustomed to them.” So David took them off.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
KJV
And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWe sometimes see a bad example drawn from good things. For if someone presumes to do the same things but not with the same disposition and orientation or with unlike virtue, he easily falls into the snares of deception and death on account of those very things from which others acquire the fruits of eternal life.
This site's exposition
Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic
on 1 Samuel 17:38-39
Saul dresses David in his own tunic and armor, the only way Saul knows to fight a giant, and David takes them off with a workman’s reason, that "I am not accustomed to them" yet. Saul’s way of meeting Goliath is Goliath’s way, bronze against bronze, and it has kept him on his hillside for forty days. David goes with what God has proved in his hand.
This site's exposition
tried to walk
Adam Clarke explains that heavy armor needed long training before a man could move in it. David had carried a sling and a staff. Bede read Saul's sword as the law given through Moses and David's own garment as the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
David then girded himself with Saul's sword, etc. The sword of Saul is the law, which was given through Moses: the garment of David, the work of grace and truth, which was made through Jesus Christ. Therefore, David, girded with the sword of Saul over …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And David girded his, sword upon his armour,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I cannot go with these - In ancient times it required considerable exercise and training to make a man expert in the use of such heavy armor; armor which in the present day scarcely a man is to be found who is able to carry; and so it must have been then, until that practice which arises from frequent use had made the proprietor perfect. I have not proved them says David: I am wholly unaccustomed to such armor and it would be an encumbrance to me.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּחְגֹּ֣ר | vaiyachgor | and he girded | H2296 → | 44 times |
| דָּוִ֣ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חַ֠רְבּוֹ | charbo | sword his | H2719 → | 413 times |
| מֵעַ֨ל | meal | <from> over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְמַדָּ֜יו | lemadav | <to> garments his | H4055 → | 11 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אֶל | vaiyoel | and he fell short | H2974 → | |
| לָלֶכֶת֮ | lalekhet | to walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִסָּה֒ | nisah | he had put to [the] test | H5254 → | |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׁא֗וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אוּכַ֛ל | ʾukhal | I will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לָלֶ֥כֶת | lalekhet | to walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בָּאֵ֖לֶּה | baeleh | in these [things] | H428 → | 746 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִסִּ֑יתִי | nisiti | I have put to [the] test | H5254 → | |
| וַיְסִרֵ֥ם | vaysirem | and he removed them | H5493 → | 299 times |
| דָּוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| מֵעָלָֽיו׃ | mealav | from on <the> himself | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וַיַּחְגֹּ֣רand he girded
vaiyachgorH2296 →44 times
דָּוִ֣דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חַ֠רְבּוֹsword his
charboH2719 →413 times
מֵעַ֨ל<from> over
mealH5921 →5755 times
לְמַדָּ֜יו<to> garments his
lemadavH4055 →11 times
וַיֹּ֣אֶלand he fell short
vaiyoelH2974 →
לָלֶכֶת֮to walk
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִסָּה֒he had put to [the] test
nisahH5254 →
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שָׁא֗וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אוּכַ֛לI will be able
ʾukhalH3201 →194 times
לָלֶ֥כֶתto walk
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
בָּאֵ֖לֶּהin these [things]
baelehH428 →746 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִסִּ֑יתִיI have put to [the] test
nisitiH5254 →
וַיְסִרֵ֥םand he removed them
vaysiremH5493 →299 times
דָּוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
מֵעָלָֽיו׃from on <the> himself
mealavH5921 →5755 times
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
Zechariah 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
- Psalms 33:16
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- Isaiah 11:2–4
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
Through
Hosea 1:7Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”
it leads to
- Zechariah 4:6
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Psalms 44:3–6
For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because…
- Zechariah 4:6
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 24.8.1-2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).