1 Samuel 17:31 (WEB)

Passage

When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:29 David said, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?”

1 Samuel 17:30 He turned away from him toward another, and spoke like that again; and the people answered him again the same way.

1 Samuel 17:31 When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.

1 Samuel 17:32 David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

1 Samuel 17:33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "words", "heard", "david", "spoke", "rehearsed", "before", "saul", and "sent". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "words" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "He turned away from him toward another..." into verse 32's "David said to Saul Let no man...", so "words" and "heard" 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 "words" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.