The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.”
Parallel Translations
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The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.”
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And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
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And the Philistine said to David: 'Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.'
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 17:44 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 20:10-11 Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” The king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Don’t let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.’ ”
- Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.
- Ezekiel 28:9-10 Will you yet say before him who kills you, ‘I am God’? But you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you. You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it,” says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
- 1 Samuel 17:46 Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
- Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. For man also doesn’t know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.
- Jeremiah 9:23 Yahweh says, “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom. Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches.
- Ezekiel 28:2 “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God—
- Ezekiel 39:17-20 “You, son of man, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Speak to the birds of every sort, and to every animal of the field, “Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat meat and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. You shall eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. You shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war,” says the Lord Yahweh.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, Come…
1Sa 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
Ver. 44. I will give thy flesh.] This was to triumph before the victory, to sell the hide before he had taken the beast. The Goliath of Rome hath dealt no better by the bodies of various of God’s dear saints, than this captive here threateneth to do by David.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Philistine said to David, come to me,....…
And the Philistine said to David, come to me,.... He seems to have stood still, disdaining: to take another step towards such a pitiful combatant, and therefore bids him come up to him, and he would soon dispatch him; unless he said this, because David was light and nimble, and he heavy and unwieldy because of his bigness, and the burden of armour on him, and therefore could not make such haste as he wished to destroy his adversary, of which he made no doubt:
and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field; the wild beasts he means; though Jarchi thinks he spoke improperly, since it is not the way of the beasts of the field, as sheep, oxen, &c. to devour a man, or even to eat any flesh; and therefore he observes, when David comes, he uses another word, which signifies the wild beasts of the earth, and so we render it, Sa1 17:46; but Kimchi shows that even these are comprehended in the word here used, see Isa 18:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 44. Come to me, and I will give…
Verse 44. Come to me, and I will give thy flesh] He intended, as soon as he could lay hold on him, to pull him to pieces.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 17:44-45. Come to me, and I will give…
1Sa 17:44-45. Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air — It will be a tender and delicate feast for them. With such confidence did he presume on his success! Thus the security and presumption of fools destroy them. Then said David, I come to thee in the name, &c. — By a commission from Him who commands all creatures in heaven and earth, and who has called me to, and animated me for, this undertaking. I rely on him as thou dost on thy sword and spear.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Earth. The heroes of modern days refrain from such…
Earth. The heroes of modern days refrain from such compliments. Homer frequently describes his champions making long speeches in praise of their former exploits. David displays his piety and confidence in God. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 44. I will give thy flesh, &c.] Compare Hector’s…
44. I will give thy flesh, &c.] Compare Hector’s defiance of Ajax in Hom. Il. XIII. 831:
“The flesh
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Shall glut the dogs and carrion birds of Troy.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (44) Come to me.—In similar terms Hector addresses Ajax—
(44) Come to me.—In similar terms Hector addresses Ajax—
“And thou imperious! if thy madness wait
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The lance of Hector, thou shalt meet thy fate.
That giant corse, extended on the shore.
Shall largely feed the fowls with fat and gore.”—
Iliad, xiii. 1053.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 I will give your flesh to the birds of…
I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the field
Goliath speaks of killing David and leaving his body on the ground for the animals to eat it as if he were to give David's body to the animals. AT: "I will kill you, and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field will eat your body" (See: Metaphor)
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birds of the heavens
"birds of the sky" or "birds"
beasts of the field
"wild animals"
in the name of Yahweh
Here "name" represents God's power or authority. AT: "with the power of Yahweh" or "with the authority of Yahweh" (See: Metonymy)
whom you have defied
"whom you have provoked" or "whom you have insulted"
translationWords
Philistines
David
flesh
heaven
beast
sword
spear
name
Yahweh of hosts
God
Israel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 17:44 A corpse left to scavengers such as birds…
17:44 A corpse left to scavengers such as birds and wild animals was grievously cursed (cp. Deut 21:23; 28:26).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.