1 Samuel 18:7

1 Samuel 18:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
• New International Version (NIV)As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”

Context of 1 Samuel 18:7

5David did whatever Saul asked him to do. And he always did it well. So Saul made David an officer to lead his army. That made the soldiers happy, and it also pleased Saul's officers. 6After David had killed the Philistine, Goliath, he and the soldiers returned to their homes. Women came out from all the towns in Israel to meet King Saul. The women were happy as they sang songs and they danced. They made music with tambourines and lyres. They sang this song while they danced: ‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies. And David has killed tens of thousands of his enemies.’ 8Saul did not like this song. He became very angry. He thought, ‘The women say that David has killed tens of thousands of men. But they say that I have only killed thousands of men. They will soon want David to be their king.’ 9After that, Saul was jealous of David and he watched David carefully.

1 Samuel 18:7 word by word

וַֽתַּעֲנֶ֛ינָה הַנָּשִׁ֥ים הַֽמְשַׂחֲק֖וֹת וַתֹּאמַ֑רְןָ הִכָּ֤ה שָׁאוּל֙ בַּאֲלָפָ֔יו וְדָוִ֖ד בְּרִבְבֹתָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to singH6030
• as they playedשָׂחַקώâchaq · to laughH7832
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• hath slainנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• his thousandsאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• and Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• his ten thousandsרְבָבָהrebâbâh · myriadH7233

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 18:7

• Exodus 15:21This is the song that she sang: ‘Sing to the Lord, because he has shown his great power. He threw horses and their riders into the sea.’
• Psalms 24:7Old gates of the city, wake up! Open now, to leave a wide path! Then the great king will come in.
• 1 Samuel 21:11The servants of King Achish said to him, ‘This man is David, the king of his country! The people sing this song about him when they dance: “Saul has killed thousands of his enemies. But David has killed tens of thousands of his enemies.” ’
• 1 Samuel 29:5Remember who this man David is! The Israelites sing this about him when they dance: “Saul has killed thousands of his enemies. And David has killed tens of thousands of his enemies.” ’

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 18:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Saul hath slain his thousands - As it cannot literally be true that Saul had slain thousands, and David ten thousands; it would be well to translate the passage thus: Saul hath smitten or fought against thousands; David against tens of thousands. "Though Saul has been victorious in all his battles; yet he has not had such great odds against him as David has had; Saul, indeed, has been opposed by thousands; David, by ten thousands." We may here remark that…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7As they played - Or danced with vocal and instrumental music (see Judges 16:25 note).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-11Verses 6-11 David's troubles not only immediately follow his triumphs, but arise from them; such is the vanity of that which seems greatest in this world. It is a sign that the Spirit of God is departed from men, if, like Saul, they are peevish, envious, suspicious, and ill-natured. Compare David, with his harp in his hand, aiming to serve Saul, and Saul, with his javelin in his hand, aiming to slay David; and observe the sweetness and usefulness of God's…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7thousands … tens of thousands: This very large increase in numbers between two lines of Hebrew poetry was a way of making the statement stronger (see Deuteronomy 32:30; Psalm 91:7). Because of his great military victories, David was beginning to become more popular and more successful than Saul (1 Samuel 18:16, 30; 21:11).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 18:7

• Armies
• Joy
• Music
• Prudence
• Victories

In the dictionaries

• David
• Saul
• Paul, Saul
• Ascribe
• Avoid
• Kingdom
• Soul
• Stripling
• Tabret
• Valiant

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 18

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings