1 Samuel 17:14 (DBY)

Passage

And David was the youngest; and the three eldest had followed Saul.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-Judah whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons; and the man was old in the days of Saul, advanced [in years] among men.

1 Samuel 17:13 And the three eldest of the sons of Jesse had gone and followed Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

1 Samuel 17:14 And David was the youngest; and the three eldest had followed Saul.

1 Samuel 17:15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

1 Samuel 17:16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "david", "youngest", "three", "eldest", "followed", and "saul". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "david" and "youngest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "And the three eldest of the sons..." into verse 15's "But David went and returned from Saul...", so "david" and "youngest" 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 "david" and "youngest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.