1 Samuel 17:47

And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — David speaks to the assembled Philistine army, publicly, moments before engaging Goliath. He is declaring the terms of the coming battle to his enemies.

The words — לֹא (lo') = "not" — the negation that inverts the expected means of victory. The verse is built on what will not be the instrument of salvation.

The thread — The pattern "not by [human means] but by [divine agency]" recurs in Psalms 44:6, Zechariah 4:6, and Hosea 1:7. Each instance strips away a category of human power to point to God as the effective agent.

Why it lands — It asks the reader to examine whether their confidence in outcomes rests on their own competence or on God's action. The verse does not comfort; it displaces the reader's sense of agency.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְיֵֽדְעוּ֙ve./ye.de.'Uso/ they may know כָּל־kol-all הַקָּהָ֣לha./ka.Halthe/ assembly הַזֶּ֔הha./Zeh<the>/ this כִּֽי־ki-that לֹ֛אlo'not בְּחֶ֥רֶבbe./Che.revby/ sword וּבַחֲנִ֖יתu./va./cha.Nitand/ by/ spear יְהוֹשִׁ֣יעַye.ho.Shi.a'he saves יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahweh כִּ֤יkifor לַֽיהוָה֙la./Yah.weh[belongs] to/ Yahweh הַמִּלְחָמָ֔הha./mil.cha.Mahthe/ battle וְנָתַ֥ןve./na.Tanand/ he will give אֶתְכֶ֖ם'et./Khem<obj.>/ you בְּיָדֵֽנוּ׃be./ya.De./nuin/ hand/ our

King James Version

And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

Cross-references

Psalms 44:6 For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.
Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
Hosea 1:7 Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”
Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
2 Chronicles 14:11 Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”
2 Chronicles 20:15 And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.
Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Psalms 33:16 No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.