1 Samuel 17:33

33 Sha'ul said to David, "You can't go to fight this P'lishti -you're just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!"

1 Samuel 17:33 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:33

And Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this
Philistine to fight with him
Had neither strength of body, nor skill in military affairs, to encounter with a man of his stature, and warlike genius and practice:

for thou [art but] a youth;
some say about fourteen or sixteen years of age, but very probably about twenty, and not more, and so not only weak, but inexpert in the art of fighting:

and he a man of war from his youth;
a gigantic man, trained up in, inured to, and expert in the affairs of war; so that David could not, on any account, be a competitor with him, and a match for him.

1 Samuel 17:33 In-Context

31 David's words were overheard and told to Sha'ul, who summoned him.

32 David said to Sha'ul, "No one should lose heart because of him; your servant will go and fight this P'lishti."

33 Sha'ul said to David, "You can't go to fight this P'lishti -you're just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!"

34 David answered Sha'ul, "Your servant used to guard his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear would come and grab a lamb from the flock,

35 I would go after it, hit it, and snatch the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned on me, I would catch it by the jaw, smack it and kill it.