1 Samuel 17:44

KJV1611 – Modern English

The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the field.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖י אֶל־דָּוִ֑ד לְכָ֣ה אֵלַ֔י וְאֶתְּנָה֙ אֶת־בְּשָׂ֣רְךָ֔ לְע֥וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּלְבֶהֱמַ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ ס

Transliteration

And wayyōʾmer the-pəlištî to-dāwid, "ləkâ to-me, and ʾettənâ ʾet-bəśārəkā to-ʿôp the-šāmayim and-to-behĕmat the-śādeh. s"

Grammar Details

• *wayyōʾmer*: waw consecutive + 3rd masculine singular Qal imperfect of *ʾmr* - and he said
• *pəlištî*: gentilic noun, masculine singular - Philistine
• *dāwid*: proper noun - David
• *ləkâ*: Qal imperative masculine singular of *hlk* + directional he - come
• *ʾettənâ*: 1st singular Qal imperfect cohortative of *ntn* - I will give
• *bəśārəkā*: noun, masculine singular construct + 2nd masculine singular suffix - your flesh
• *ʿôp*: noun, masculine singular construct - birds/fowl
• *šāmayim*: noun, masculine dual - heavens/sky
• *behĕmat*: noun, feminine singular construct - beasts/animals
• *śādeh*: noun, masculine singular - field
• *s*: section marker in Hebrew text

Word Meanings

• *ləkâ*: come/approach/go
• *ʾettənâ*: I will give/I will provide/I will offer
• *bəśārəkā*: your flesh/your body/your carcass
• *ʿôp*: birds/fowl/flying creatures
• *šāmayim*: heavens/sky
• *behĕmat*: beasts/animals/wildlife
• *śādeh*: field/open country/wilderness

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  Then he said to David, 'Come here, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field.'

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  and sayde vnto Dauid: Come hither to me, I wil geue thy flesh to the foules vnder the heauen, and to the beastes in the felde.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And the Philistim sayd to Dauid, Come to me, & I will giue thy flesh vnto the foules of the heauen, and to the beastes of the field.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And the Philistine sayde to Dauid: Come to me, and I wyll geue thy fleshe vnto the foules of the ayre, and to the beastes of the fielde.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  and the Philistine saith unto David, `Come unto me, and I give thy flesh to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And the Philistine said to David, Come here to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

• World English Bible (2000)

  The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  The Philistine said to David,“Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!”

Referenced Verses

• 1 Kgs 20:10-11 : 10 And Benhadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not the one who girds on his armor boast himself like the one who takes it off.
• Ezek 28:9-9 : 9 Will you still say before him who slays you, I am God? but you shall be a man, and no God, in the hand of him who slays you. 10 You shall die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, says the Lord GOD.
• Ezek 39:17-20 : 17 And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves from all sides to my sacrificial feast that I prepare for you, even a great sacrificial feast upon the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 And you shall eat fat till you are full, and drink blood till you are drunk, at my sacrificial feast which I have prepared for you. 20 Thus you shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, says the Lord GOD.
• 1 Sam 17:46 : 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. I will give the bodies of the Philistine army this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
• Prov 18:12 : 12 Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility.
• Eccl 9:11-12 : 11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man also does not know his time: as the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in a snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.
• Jer 9:23 : 23 Thus says the LORD, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches:
• Ezek 28:2 : 2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD; Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet you are a man and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God: