1 Samuel 17:25

25 The talk among the troops was, "Have you ever seen anything like this, this man openly and defiantly challenging Israel? The man who kills the giant will have it made. The king will give him a huge reward, offer his daughter as a bride, and give his entire family a free ride."

1 Samuel 17:25 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:25

And the men of Israel said
To one another:

have ye seen this man that is come up?
taken notice of him, and observed him?

surely to defy Israel is he come up;
to challenge them to fight with him, and upbraid them with cowardice that they did not:

and it shall be [that] the man who killeth him;
this, and what follows, they said to encourage any person to engage with him, though none of them cared to encounter him themselves:

the king will enrich him with great riches;
give him a large gratuity, make a present of a great sum of money to him:

and will give him his daughter to be his wife,
in like manner as Caleb promised to give his daughter in marriage to the person that should take Kirjathsepher, ( Judges 1:12 ) ;

and make his father's house free in Israel;
from all tributes, taxes, levies, impositions, king's service, and duty; or, as the Targum,

``make his father's house freemen, nobles;''

raise it to the rank of nobility.

1 Samuel 17:25 In-Context

23 While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him.
24 The Israelites, to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant - totally frightened.
25 The talk among the troops was, "Have you ever seen anything like this, this man openly and defiantly challenging Israel? The man who kills the giant will have it made. The king will give him a huge reward, offer his daughter as a bride, and give his entire family a free ride."
26 David, who was talking to the men standing around him, asked, "What's in it for the man who kills that Philistine and gets rid of this ugly blot on Israel's honor? Who does he think he is, anyway, this uncircumcised Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?"
27 They told him what everyone was saying about what the king would do for the man who killed the Philistine.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.