1 Samuel 17:28

1 Samuel 17:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
• New International Version (NIV)When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

Context of 1 Samuel 17:28

26David asked the men who were standing near him, ‘If someone kills this Philistine soldier and takes away the shame from Israel, what gift will he get? He is an unclean Philistine! He must stop insulting the army of our God, who lives for ever.’ 27The men then told David what the king had promised to do. They said, ‘This is what the king will do to help the man who kills that Philistine soldier.’ When David was speaking with the soldiers, his oldest brother, Eliab, heard him. He became angry with David. He asked David, ‘Why have you come here? You should be taking care of a few sheep in the wilderness. Who is taking care of them now? I know how proud you are! I know about your wicked ideas! You came here only to watch the battle.’ 29David said, ‘Have I done anything wrong? I only asked a question.’ 30So David went away and he asked other people the same question. All the men gave him the same answer.

1 Samuel 17:28 word by word

וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע אֱלִיאָב֙ אָחִ֣יו הַגָּד֔וֹל בְּדַבְּר֖וֹ אֶל־הָאֲנָשִׁ֑ים וַיִּֽחַר־אַף֩ אֱלִיאָ֨ב בְּדָוִ֜ד וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ לָמָּה־זֶּ֣ה יָרַ֗דְתָּ וְעַל־מִ֨י נָטַ֜שְׁתָּ מְעַ֨ט הַצֹּ֤אן הָהֵ֙נָּה֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר אֲנִ֧י יָדַ֣עְתִּי אֶת־זְדֹנְךָ֗ וְאֵת֙ רֹ֣עַ לְבָבֶ֔ךָ כִּ֗י לְמַ֛עַן רְא֥וֹת הַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה יָרָֽדְתָּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Eliabאֱלִיאָב'ĕlîy'âb · EliabH446
• his eldestגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: oldH1419
• brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• when he spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• unto the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• angerאַף'aph · face: angerH639
• was kindledחָרָהchârâh · to be incensedH2734
• against Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• and he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Why camest thou downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• hither? and with whom hast thou leftנָטַשׁnâţash · to leaveH5203
• thoseהֵנָּהhênnâh · they(fem.)H2007
• fewמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592
• sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• I knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• thy prideזָדוֹןzâdôn · arroganceH2087
• and the naughtinessרֹעַrôa‛ · evilH7455
• of thine heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• that thou mightest seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 17:28

• 1 Samuel 16:13Samuel took the horn that was full of olive oil. He poured the oil over David's head to anoint him. Samuel did this in front of David's brothers. From that moment, the Spirit of the Lord came on David with great power. Then Samuel returned to his home in Ramah.
• Genesis 37:4Joseph's brothers knew that Jacob loved him more than he loved them. So they hated Joseph. They could not say anything nice to him.
• Proverbs 18:19If you insult a relative, it will be difficult to become friends with him again. Arguments keep people apart, like the walls of a strong city.
• Proverbs 27:4An angry person does cruel things that can destroy people. But a jealous person is much worse.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4I also thought about the clever work that people do. I saw that people work hard because they are jealous of each other. They want to do better than other people. I realized that this has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Matthew 10:36A man's own family will fight against him.
• Matthew 27:18Pilate knew why the Jewish leaders had brought Jesus to him. They were jealous because people liked Jesus so much.
• Mark 3:21People told his family what was happening. So they went to take him away with them. They thought that Jesus was crazy.
• 1 Samuel 17:20So David got up early the next morning. He left his father's sheep with another shepherd to take care of them. He did what his father had told him to do. He took the food to give to his brothers. When David arrived at the camp of the Israelite army, the soldiers were going out to fight. They were shouting their war songs while they went.
• 1 Samuel 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at how handsome or how tall Eliab is. I have not chosen him. The Lord does not look at people in the way that people do. People look at the face and body of a person. But the Lord sees what they are like inside.’
• Psalms 35:11Cruel people tell lies against me in court. I do not even know what they are talking about.
• Jude 1:10But these false teachers speak bad things against anything that they do not understand. They are like animals that cannot think properly. They just do the things that their nature causes them to do. Those are the things that are destroying them.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 17:28

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28Why camest thou down? - From the heights of Bethlehem to the valley of Elah. Thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart - See the similar expression, Jeremiah 49. Compare the envy of Jacob‘s sons toward Joseph, and of the slanders heaped upon the Son of David in the days of His flesh.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-30Verses 12-30 Jesse little thought of sending his son to the army at that critical juncture; but the wise God orders actions and affairs, so as to serve his designs. In times of general formality and lukewarmness, every degree of zeal which implies readiness to go further, or to venture more in the cause of God than others, will be blamed as pride and ambition, and by none more than by near relations, like Eliab, or negligent superiors. It was a trial of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28Eliab was angry, possibly because he was jealous that David was chosen to be king instead of him (1 Samuel 16:6–13).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 17:28

• Armies
• Championship
• Decision
• Eliab
• Heart
• Jesse
• Sarcasm
• Uncharitableness

In the dictionaries

• David
• Arise
• Assay
• Carriage
• Cause
• Coat
• Desert
• Elhanan
• Eliab
• Naughtiness

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings