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1 Samuel 17:43
ESV And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
NIV He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
NASB So the Philistine said to David, 'Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?' And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
CSB He said to David, "Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?" Then he cursed David by his gods.
NLT Am I a dog,' he roared at David, 'that you come at me with a stick?' And he cursed David by the names of his gods.
KJV And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
NKJV So the Philistine said to David, “ Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

What does 1 Samuel 17:43 mean?

The Israelites and Philistines have been gathered for war (1 Samuel 17:1–3). A Philistine giant, Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4–7), has challenged Israel to champion warfare (1 Samuel 17:8–10). Hand-to-hand combat between one man from each nation would determine the victor. For forty days (1 Samuel 17:16), Israel has stood at the battlefield but responded to the threats with fear (1 Samuel 17:11, 20–24).

Now, David has come to the Valley of Elah at the behest of his father to check on his brothers (1 Samuel 17:12–18). Having heard the Philistine's threats (1 Samuel 17:23), David volunteered to remove the reproach from Israel (1 Samuel 17:31–32). He was only a youth and not a warrior, but David was an experienced shepherd (1 Samuel 17:34–36). He recognized that the Philistine was defying the armies of the living God, and that God would provide the victory (1 Samuel 17:37). King Saul agreed to let David represent the nation and attempted to arm him (1 Samuel 17:38–39).

But Saul's armor did not fit David, so he opted to enter battle as a shepherd (1 Samuel 17:34–35, 40). The Philistine champion is insulted (1 Samuel 17:41–42). From his perspective, David seems to be a handsome boy completely ill equipped for battle. Goliath, towering over anyone else on the field (1 Samuel 17:4), asks if David thinks he is only an angry dog that can be chased off or beaten down with a stick.

It was normal in pre-battle confrontations during this era for warriors to hurl insults and curses at each other. Such curses went beyond name-calling. All warfare at this time was religious warfare, with gods thought to battle against each other through the weapons of those who worshiped them. The primary gods of the Philistines were Dagon (1 Samuel 5:2) and Ashtaroth (1 Samuel 31:10). These may have been the gods that Goliath called on to do bad things to David and the Israelites.
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