1 Samuel 17:37

37 Then David said, "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."^[a] Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you."

1 Samuel 17:37 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:37

And David said moreover
For the further confirmation of it, and as more strongly expressing his faith of it; not as owing to any natural strength or skill of his, but to the power of God, of whose assistance he made no question:

the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the
paw of the bear;
for to him he ascribes his deliverance from those savage creatures, and his victory over them, and on him he relied for help and salvation in the present case:

he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine;
David did not go forth in his own name and strength, but in the name and strength of the Lord of hosts:

and Saul;
seeing him so positive, and fully assured of victory:

said unto David, go, and the Lord be with thee;
to help and assist him, to deliver him out of the hand of the Philistine, and give him victory over him; the Targum is,

``the Word of the Lord be for thy help.''

1 Samuel 17:37 In-Context

35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued [the lamb] from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.

36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."

37 Then David said, "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you."

38 Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David's head and had him put on armor.

39 David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. "I can't walk in these," David said to Saul, "I'm not used to them." So David took them off.

Footnotes

• [a]. 2 Tm 4:17-18