1 Samuel 17:34 (GNV)

Passage

And Dauid answered vnto Saul, Thy seruant kept his fathers sheepe, and there came a lyon, and likewise a beare, and tooke a sheepe out of the flocke,

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:32 So Dauid saide to Saul, Let no mans heart faile him, because of him: thy seruant wil goe, and fight with this Philistim.

1 Samuel 17:33 And Saul sayde to Dauid, Thou art not able to goe against this Philistim to fight with him: for thou art a boye, and he is a man of warre from his youth.

1 Samuel 17:34 And Dauid answered vnto Saul, Thy seruant kept his fathers sheepe, and there came a lyon, and likewise a beare, and tooke a sheepe out of the flocke,

1 Samuel 17:35 And I went out after him and smote him, and tooke it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by the beard, and smote him, and slue him.

1 Samuel 17:36 So thy seruaunt slue both the lyon, and the beare: therefore this vncircumcised Philistim shall be as one of them, seeing hee hath railed on the hoste of the liuing God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "dauid", "answered", "vnto", "saul", "seruant", "kept", and "fathers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "dauid", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "And Saul sayde to Dauid Thou art..." into verse 35's "And I went out after him and...", so "sheep" and "dauid" 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 "sheep" and "dauid" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.