1 Samuel 17:56 (YLT)

Passage

And the king saith, `Ask thou whose son this <FI>is<Fi> --the young man.'

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:54 And David taketh the head of the Philistine, and bringeth it in to Jerusalem, and his weapons he hath put in his own tent.

1 Samuel 17:55 And when Saul seeth David going out to meet the Philistine, he hath said unto Abner, head of the host, `Whose son <FI>is<Fi> this--the youth, Abner?' and Abner saith, `Thy soul liveth, O king, I have not known.'

1 Samuel 17:56 And the king saith, `Ask thou whose son this <FI>is<Fi> --the young man.'

1 Samuel 17:57 And when David turneth back from smiting the Philistine, then Abner taketh him and bringeth him in before Saul, and the head of the Philistine in his hand;

1 Samuel 17:58 and Saul saith unto him, `Whose son <FI>art<Fi> thou, O youth?' and David saith, `Son of thy servant Jesse, the Beth-Lehemite.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "saith", "thou", "whose", and "young". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "king" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 55's "And when Saul seeth David going out..." into verse 57's "And when David turneth back from smiting...", so "king" and "saith" 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 "king" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.