1 Samuel 17:33

33 "You can't go out and fight this Philistine," Saul answered David. "You are still a boy. But he's been a warrior since he was a boy!"

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 The things David had said were overheard and reported to Saul, who sent for him.

32 "Don't let anyone lose courage because of this Philistine!" David told Saul. "I, your servant, will go out and fight him!"

33 "You can't go out and fight this Philistine," Saul answered David. "You are still a boy. But he's been a warrior since he was a boy!"

34 "Your servant has kept his father's sheep," David replied to Saul, “and if ever a lion or a bear came and carried off one of the flock,

35 I would go after it, strike it, and rescue the animal from its mouth. If it turned on me, I would grab it at its jaw, strike it, and kill it.