1 Samuel 18:7
ESV
And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands."
NIV
As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."
NASB
The women sang as they played, and said, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.'
CSB
As they danced, the women sang: Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.
NLT
This was their song: 'Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!'
KJV
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
NKJV
So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”
What does 1 Samuel 18:7 mean?
The women of Israel are celebrating David's defeat of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:50) and the Israelite army's victory over the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:52–53). The closeness of these verses suggests that this moment came immediately following David's killing of Goliath and the battle that followed. However, it may have happened later, or more than once, after David added other victories over the Philistines to his record (1 Samuel 18:5).The original language here could be translated to say that the "merry-making women" sang. The phrase may mean these were professional celebrators hired to sing and dance and bring up the energy of an official celebration. They used a common form of singing, sometimes called an antiphon or "call and response," where the singers address each other in the song.
It's understandable that one line of their song caught Saul's attention. The women are saying nothing negative about Saul. He is proclaimed for his victory over "thousands" in battle. But David is credited with "ten thousands." Both are nonliteral terms, much as a modern person might speak of a hot day being "a million degrees." The song is meant to honor both, but it especially calls out David's deeds.
Whatever the women's intent, the line triggers a change in Saul's attitude. He may have been forced to remember Samuel's words: that Saul's son will not follow him as king (1 Samuel 15:26–29). It seems the people think better of David than they do of Saul. David has officially become a threat to Saul's rule, at least in Saul's own mind (1 Samuel 18:8–9).
