1 Samuel 17:17 (DBY)

Passage

And Jesse said to David his son, Take, I pray, for thy brethren, this ephah of parched [corn] and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren;

Nearby Context

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.

1 Samuel 17:17 And Jesse said to David his son, Take, I pray, for thy brethren, this ephah of parched [corn] and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren;

1 Samuel 17:18 and carry these ten cheeses to the captain of the thousand, and visit thy brethren to see how they are, and take a pledge of them.

1 Samuel 17:19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel [were] in the valley of terebinths, fighting against the Philistines.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesse", "said", "david", "take", "pray", "brethren", "ephah", and "parched". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesse" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And the Philistine drew near morning and..." into verse 18's "and carry these ten cheeses to the...", so "jesse" and "said" 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 "jesse" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.