1 Samuel 17:13 (YLT)

Passage

and the three eldest sons of Jesse go, they have gone after Saul to battle; and the name of his three sons who have gone into battle <FI>are<Fi> Eliab the first-born, and his second Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:11 And Saul heareth--and all Israel--these words of the Philistine, and they are broken down and greatly afraid.

1 Samuel 17:12 And David <FI>is<Fi> son of this Ephrathite of Beth-Lehem-Judah, whose name <FI>is<Fi> Jesse, and he hath eight sons, and the man in the days of Saul hath become aged among men;

1 Samuel 17:13 and the three eldest sons of Jesse go, they have gone after Saul to battle; and the name of his three sons who have gone into battle <FI>are<Fi> Eliab the first-born, and his second Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

1 Samuel 17:14 And David is the youngest, and the three eldest have gone after Saul,

1 Samuel 17:15 and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "three", "eldest", "sons", "jesse", "gone", "after", "saul", and "battle". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "three" and "eldest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "And David FI is Fi son of..." into verse 14's "And David is the youngest and the...", so "three" and "eldest" 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 "three" and "eldest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.