Passage

1 Samuel 17.42

Book: 1 Samuel · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"40. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him."

"42. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance."

"43. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field." (1 Samuel 17:40-44, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"40. He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine. 41. The Philistine walked and came near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him."

"42. When the Philistine looked around, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and had a good looking face."

"43. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44. 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.”" (1 Samuel 17:40-44, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"40. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. ^{brook: or, valley} ^{bag: Heb. vessel} 41. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him."

"42. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance."

"43. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 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." (1 Samuel 17:40-44, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"40. And he taketh his staff in his hand, and chooseth for him five smooth stones from the brook, and putteth them in the shepherds' habiliments that he hath, even in the scrip, and his sling [is] in his hand, and he draweth nigh unto the Philistine. 41. And the Philistine goeth on, going and drawing near unto David, and the man bearing the buckler [is] before him,"

"42. and the Philistine looketh attentively, and seeth David, and despiseth him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance."

"43. And the Philistine saith unto David, 'Am I a dog that thou art coming unto me with staves?' and the Philistine revileth David by his gods, 44. and the Philistine saith unto David, 'Come unto me, and I give thy flesh to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.'" (1 Samuel 17:40-44, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: narrator (traditionally Samuel, Nathan, Gad)
Audience: monarchy-era Israel
Location: Israel during the rise of the monarchy
Time period: events c. 1100-1010 BC; composed c. 1000-900 BC

Theological reading

Key words

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.