1 Samuel 17:47 (ASV)

Passage

and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah`s, and he will give you into our hand.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

1 Samuel 17:46 This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

1 Samuel 17:47 and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah`s, and he will give you into our hand.

1 Samuel 17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "assembly", "jehovah", "saveth", "sword", "spear", "battle", and "give". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "assembly" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 46's "This day will Jehovah deliver thee into..." into verse 48's "And it came to pass when the...", so "assembly" and "jehovah" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "assembly" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.