Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

1 Samuel 17:32
ESV And David said to Saul, "Let no man 's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
NIV David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
NASB And David said to Saul, 'May no one’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!'
CSB David said to Saul, "Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!"
NLT Don’t worry about this Philistine,' David told Saul. 'I’ll go fight him!'
KJV And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
NKJV Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

What does 1 Samuel 17:32 mean?

David has gone to the battlefield at the Valley of Elah where the Israelites and Philistines are standing off (1 Samuel 17:1–3, 19). The young man is there to deliver food and check on his brothers (1 Samuel 17:17–18). While there, he has heard the challenge of the Philistine champion, Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4–10, 23). Goliath calls for man-to-man combat between him and an Israelite as representatives of their nations. The survivor's nation would be the victor of the war. The giant has taunted Israel for forty days (1 Samuel 17:16), and Israel has responded in fear (1 Samuel 17:11, 24).

When David hears the challenge, he asks what will be done for the Israelite who defeats the Philistine (1 Samuel 17:26). David indicates that the Philistine is bringing shame on Israel and that the uncircumcised man has no standing to defy the armies of the living God. David's oldest brother, Eliab, is greatly angered by David's question (1 Samuel 17:28). Perhaps he thought David was just grandstanding, calling attention to himself by suggesting that he would be brave enough to fight Goliath. David is not deterred by his brother's anger, and he keeps talking to the soldiers about the situation (1 Samuel 17:30). David's words are reported to King Saul, who summoned the youth to see him (1 Samuel 17:31).

When David arrives at the king, he tells Saul that his words are not empty boasts. He is prepared to fight Goliath on behalf of Israel. David starts by saying that nobody's heart should fail because of Goliath. In truth, David was telling Saul that his own heart, or courage, should not fail.

It may be that Saul was visibly anxious by the threat of Goliath's challenge. It's possible some thought that Saul, as Israel's king, should be the one to accept Goliath's call for a champion of Israel to fight him (1 Samuel 8:20). Saul, despite being the tallest of the Israelites (1 Samuel 9:2), appeared to be no match for the gigantic, Philistine warrior covered head-to-toe in the latest battle armor (1 Samuel 17:4–7). Even with Saul's promises of great reward (1 Samuel 17:25), no Israelite had volunteered (1 Samuel 17:24).

Now David, just a youth, insists that the king need not worry because he will fight the giant.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit