1 Samuel 17:31 (YLT)

Passage

And the words which David hath spoken are heard, and they declare before Saul, and he receiveth him;

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:29 And David saith, `What have I done now? is it not a word?'

1 Samuel 17:30 And he turneth round from him unto another, and saith according to this word, and the people return him word as the first word.

1 Samuel 17:31 And the words which David hath spoken are heard, and they declare before Saul, and he receiveth him;

1 Samuel 17:32 and David saith unto Saul, `Let no man's heart fall because of him, thy servant doth go, and hath fought with this Philistine.'

1 Samuel 17:33 And Saul saith unto David, `Thou art not able to go unto this Philistine, to fight with him, for a youth thou <FI>art<Fi> , and he a man of war from his youth.'

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "And he turneth round from him unto..." into verse 32's "and David saith unto Saul Let no...", so "words" and "david" 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 "david" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.