1 Samuel 17:49-51

17:49 David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground.

17:50 ¹ David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. ²  17:51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath’s ³  sword, drew it from its sheath, ⁴  killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away.

1 Samuel 23:5

23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. ⁵  David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

Mazmur 18:32

18:32 The one true God ⁶  gives ⁷  me strength; ⁸ 

he removes ⁹  the obstacles in my way. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 18:39

18:39 You give me strength ¹¹  for battle;

you make my foes kneel before me. ¹² 

Yesaya 45:5

45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, ¹³ 

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, ¹⁴  even though you do not recognize ¹⁵  me.

Kolose 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹⁶  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

[17:50]  ¹ tc Most LXX mss lack v. 50.

[17:50]  ² tn Verse 50 is a summary statement; v. 51 gives a more detailed account of how David killed the Philistine.

[17:51]  ³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:51]  ⁴ tc Most LXX mss lack the words “drew it from its sheath.”

[23:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”

[18:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the Lord’s distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). See v. 30.

[18:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “is the one who clothes.” For similar language see 1 Sam 2:4; Pss 65:6; 93:1. The psalmist employs a generalizing hymnic style in vv. 32-34; he uses participles in vv. 32a, 33a, and 34a to describe what God characteristically does on his behalf.

[18:32]  ⁸ tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”

[18:32]  sn Gives me strength. As the following context makes clear, this refers to physical and emotional strength for battle (see especially v. 39).

[18:32]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.

[18:32]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he made my path smooth.” The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).

[18:39]  ¹¹ tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.

[18:39]  ¹² tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”

[18:39]  sn My foes kneel before me. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 268.

[45:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.

[45:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).

[45:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”

[1:11]  ¹⁶ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.