1-Samuel - 17:51



51 Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head therewith. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Samuel 17:51.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
He ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head. And the Philistines seeing that their champion was dead, fled away.
And David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him completely, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.
and David runneth and standeth over the Philistine, and taketh his sword, and draweth it out of its sheath, and putteth him to death, and cutteth off with it his head; and the Philistines see that their hero is dead, and flee.
So running up to the Philistine and putting his foot on him, David took his sword out of its cover, and put him to death, cutting off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their fighter was dead, they went in flight.
And David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, they fled.
he ran and stood over the Philistine, and he took his sword, and withdrew it from the sheath. And he killed him and cut off his head. Then the Philistines, seeing that their strongest man was dead, fled away.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Champion - Quite a different word from that so rendered in 1-Samuel 17:4, 1-Samuel 17:23; better "warrior."

When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled - They were panic-struck; and not being willing to fulfill the condition which was stipulated by Goliath, they precipitately left the field. The Israelites took a proper advantage of these circumstances, and totally routed their enemies.

Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine,.... Upon his carcass, as it lay prostrate on the ground, and trampled on him, in just contempt of him who had defied, reproached, and despised the armies of Israel:
and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof; which no doubt was a very large one, and required a good deal of strength to unsheathe it, and use it; and therefore either David, though so very young, was naturally very strong, or he had at this time a more than ordinary measure of strength given him:
and slew him; for it seems that by the blow of the stone he was only stunned, and fell to the ground, but still had life in him, which David soon put an end to by his own sword:
and cut off his head therewith; by which it would appear to both armies looking on that his business was done, and he was thoroughly dispatched:
and when the Philistines saw their champion was dead; of which the cutting off his head was a demonstrative proof, and which they could discern at a distance:
they fled; being struck with a panic at this unexpected event, and no doubt by the Lord; for otherwise, had they given themselves the least time to reflect on their own numbers and strength, they had no just occasion to flee; their safety not depending on a single man, though ever so strong: upon this occasion David penned the ninth psalm; see Psalm 9:1.

cut off his head--not as an evidence of the giant's death, for his slaughter had been effected in presence of the whole army, but as a trophy to be borne to Saul. The heads of slain enemies are always regarded in the East as the most welcome tokens of victory.

David took - Hence it appears, that David was not a little man, as many fancy; but a man of considerable bulk and strength, because he was able to manage a giant's sword. The stone threw him down to the earth, and bereaved him of sense and motion; but there remained some life in him, which the sword took away, and so compleated the work. God is greatly glorified, when his proud enemies are cut off with their own sword.

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