1 Samuel 17:36 (DBY)

Passage

Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:34 And David said to Saul, Thy servant fed his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and also a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.

1 Samuel 17:35 And I went after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I seized him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

1 Samuel 17:36 Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

1 Samuel 17:37 And David said, Jehovah who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and Jehovah be with thee.

1 Samuel 17:38 And Saul clothed David with his dress, and put a helmet of bronze upon his head, and clothed him with a corselet.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "servant", "smote", "both", "lion", "bear", "uncircumcised", "philistine", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "servant" and "smote", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "And I went after him and smote..." into verse 37's "And David said Jehovah who delivered me...", so "servant" and "smote" 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 "servant" and "smote" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.