17 The Philistine army came together. They were ready to fight the Israelites. They met together near Socoh, a town in Judah. [ a ] They put up their tents at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelite army put up their tents in the valley of Elah. The soldiers prepared to fight against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on one hill. The Israelites were on another hill. The valley was between the two armies.
4 The Philistines had a strong, brave soldier. His name was Goliath and he came from a town called Gath. He was nearly three metres tall! 5 He wore a helmet and armour that were made of bronze. The armour for his body weighed about 57 kilograms. 6 He had pieces of bronze to protect his legs. He had a bronze sword that he tied on his back. 7 He also carried a heavy spear. It was as thick as a tree. The iron point on the spear weighed about seven kilograms. A man who carried Goliath's shield walked in front of him.
8 Goliath stood up and he shouted to the Israelite soldiers, ‘Why have you all got ready to fight against us? I am the great soldier of the Philistine army. You serve Saul as his soldiers. Is that not true? So you must choose one of your men to come and fight against me. 9 If he can kill me in a fight, we Philistines will become your slaves. But if I knock him down and I kill him, then you Israelites will become our slaves.’
10 Then Goliath said, ‘I am not afraid of any of your soldiers! Choose one of your men and we will fight against each other.’
11 King Saul and all the Israelite soldiers heard what Goliath said. It made them very upset and afraid.
12 At this time, David's father Jesse was a very old man. Jesse belonged to the clan of Ephrathah. He came from Bethlehem town in Judah. He had e ight sons. 13 Jesse's three oldest sons had joined Saul's army to fight the war. They were Eliab, Jesse's oldest son, his second son, Abinadab, and his third son, Shammah. 14 David was Jesse's youngest son. While Jesse's three oldest sons were in Saul's army, 15 David would sometimes leave Saul and go back home to Bethlehem. He did that to take care of his father's sheep.
16 For 40 days, Goliath would stand up and insult the Israelite army every morning and every evening.
17 One day, Jesse said to his son David, ‘Take some food to your brothers in the army. Here is a large bag of grain that we have cooked, and ten loaves of bread. Take them quickly to the army camp. 18 Also take these ten pieces of cheese to the officer who leads their group of soldiers. Find out whether your brothers are well. Bring something back to me to show how they are. 19 They are in Elah Valley with Saul and the Israelite army, where they are fighting against the Philistines.’
20 So 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. 21 The Israelite army and the Philistine army stood in their places ready for the fight. They looked towards each other across the valley. 22 David gave his gifts to the officer who took care of the army's food. Then he ran to the place where the Israelite soldiers were standing. He said ‘hello’ to his brothers to see if they were well. 23 While David was talking to his brothers, Goliath marched out from the Philistine army. He was the great Philistine soldier from Gath. As he came, Goliath was insulting the Israelites as he did every day. David heard what he said. 24 When all the Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were very afraid. They ran away from him.
25 The Israelites said to each other, ‘Look at this man! He is so strong! He comes every day to insult us. King Saul will give great riches to any man who can kill Goliath. The king will give his daughter to that man, for him to marry her. His family will never again have to pay taxes to the king.’
26 David 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.’
27 The 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.’
28 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.’
29 David said, ‘Have I done anything wrong? I only asked a question.’
30 So David went away and he asked other people the same question. All the men gave him the same answer. 31 Some of the soldiers went to King Saul and they told him what David had said. Saul told David to come to him.
32 David said to King Saul, ‘We should not be afraid of this Philistine! I am your servant. I am ready to go and fight against him.’
33 Saul replied, ‘You could not fight against this strong Philistine. You are only a boy! He has been a brave soldier since he was a young man.’
34 But David said to Saul, ‘Sir, I have been a shepherd who takes care of his father's sheep. Sometimes a lion or a bear would come to take a lamb from among the sheep. 35 Then I would chase after the lion or the bear. I would knock it down and I would save the lamb from its mouth. If the wild animal turned to attack me, I would take hold of its neck. Then I would hit it and kill it. 36 I have killed lions and bears like that. I will do the same to this unclean Philistine. He has insulted the army of our God, who lives for ever. 37 The Lord has kept me safe from lions and bears. He will also save me from the power of this Philistine soldier.’
So Saul said to David, ‘Then do it! I pray that the Lord will help you.’
38 Saul took his own clothes and armour and he put them on David. He put his bronze helmet on David's head. 39 David tied Saul's sword on top of the armour. Then he tried to walk. But he had not worn heavy armour like that before.
So David said to Saul, ‘I cannot wear all this armour to fight. I have not used armour before.’ So David took it all off.
40 Instead, David picked up his shepherd's stick. He picked up five round stones from the stream. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd's bag. He held his sling in his hand. Then he walked towards the Philistine soldier.
41 The Philistine slowly walked towards David. The man who was carrying his shield walked in front of him. 42 As he came nearer, the Philistine looked carefully at David. He saw that David was no more than a healthy, handsome boy. That made him laugh at David. 43 He said to David, ‘Do you think that I am just a dog? Can you knock me down with a little stick?’ Then he prayed to his gods that they would curse David.
44 The Philistine said to David, ‘Come nearer to me. I will feed the birds and the wild animals with your dead body.’
45 David said to him, ‘You have come to fight against me with a sword, a knife and a spear. But I come to fight against you with the authority of the Lord Almighty. He is the God who leads Israel's army, and you have insulted him! 46 Today the Lord will make me strong to win against you. I will knock you down and I will cut off your head. Today I will feed the birds and the wild animals with the dead bodies of the Philistine soldiers. Then everyone on the earth will know that there is a God who takes care of Israel. 47 The Lord does not need swords or spears to save his people. Everyone here will soon know that! The Lord is the one who fights our battles. He will put you under our power.’
48 The Philistine soldier started to move nearer to David to attack him. David ran forward quickly to fight against him. 49 David reached into his bag and he took out a stone. He put the stone into his sling and he threw it. The stone hit the Philistine man's head, above his eyes. It went in very deep. Goliath fell down with his face on the ground.
50 In that way, David used a sling and a stone to win against the Philistine soldier. He knocked down the Philistine and he killed him. And David did not even hold a sword in his hand! 51 David then ran and stood over Goliath. He pulled Goliath's sword out and he killed him. Then he used it to cut off Goliath's head.
The Philistines saw that their best soldier was now dead. So they ran away.
52 When the soldiers from Israel and Judah saw what had happened, they chased after the Philistines. They shouted their war song as they ran. They chased the Philistines all the way to Gath, and then to the gates of Ekron town. The dead bodies of the Philistine soldiers were lying everywhere on the road to Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelite soldiers had finished chasing and killing the Philistines, they returned. They went into the Philistines' camp and they took their things for themselves. 54 David picked up Goliath's head to take it to Jerusalem. But he put Goliath's weapons in his own tent.
55 Saul had watched David when he went out to fight the strong Philistine soldier. Saul said to Abner, the leader of his army, ‘Tell me Abner, who is that young man? Who is his father?’
Abner replied, ‘My king, I cannot tell you a lie. I do not know who he is.’ 56 The king said, ‘You must find out the name of that man's father.’
57 When David returned after he had killed Goliath, Abner took him to Saul. David was still holding Goliath's head in his hand.
58 Saul asked him, ‘Young man, who is your father?’ David answered, ‘I am the son of your servant Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem.’
17 The Philistines gathered their armies together for war. They met at Socoh in Judah. Their camp was between Socoh and Azekah, at a town called Ephes Dammim.
2 Saul and the Israelite soldiers also gathered together. Their camp was in the Valley of Elah. Saul’s soldiers were lined up and ready to fight the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were on one hill. The Israelites were on the other hill. The valley was between them.
4 The Philistines had a champion fighter named Goliath, who was from Gath. He was over 9 feet [ a ] tall. Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a coat of armor that was made like the scales on a fish. This armor was made of bronze and weighed about 125 pounds. [ b ] 6 Goliath wore bronze protectors on his legs. He had a bronze javelin tied on his back. 7 The wooden part of his spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. The spear’s blade weighed 15 pounds. [ c ] Goliath’s helper walked in front of him, carrying Goliath’s shield.
8 Each day Goliath would come out and shout a challenge to the Israelite soldiers. He would say, “Why are all of your soldiers lined up ready for battle? You are Saul’s servants. I am a Philistine. So choose one man and send him to fight me. 9 If that man kills me, he wins and we Philistines will become your slaves. But if I kill your man, then I win, and you will become our slaves. You will have to serve us.”
10 The Philistine also said, “Today I stand and make fun of the army of Israel. I dare you to send me one of your men and let us fight.”
11 Saul and the Israelite soldiers heard what Goliath said, and they were very afraid.
12 [ d ] David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was from the Ephrathah family in Bethlehem, Judah. Jesse had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons went with Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. 14 David was the youngest son. The three oldest sons were in Saul’s army, 15 but David left Saul from time to time to take care of his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 The Philistine came out every morning and evening and stood before the Israelite army. Goliath insulted Israel like this for 40 days.
17 One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this basket [ e ] of cooked grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers in the camp. 18 Also take these ten pieces of cheese for the officer who commands your brothers’ group of 1000 soldiers. See how your brothers are doing. Bring back something to show me your brothers are all right. 19 Your brothers are with Saul and all the Israelite soldiers in the Valley of Elah. They are there to fight against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning, David had another shepherd take care of the sheep while he took the food and left as Jesse had told him to. David drove their wagon to the camp. The soldiers were going out to their battle positions just as David arrived. The soldiers began shouting their war cry. 21 The Israelites and Philistines were lined up and ready for battle.
22 David left the food with the man who kept supplies. Then he ran to the place where the Israelite soldiers were and asked about his brothers. 23 While David was talking with his brothers, the Philistine champion fighter came out from the Philistine army. This was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath. Goliath shouted things against Israel as usual. David heard what he said.
24 The Israelite soldiers saw Goliath and ran away. They were all afraid of him. 25 One of the Israelite men said, “Did you see that man? Look at him! He comes out each day and makes fun of Israel. Whoever kills him will get rich. King Saul will give him a lot of money. Saul will also let his daughter marry the man who kills Goliath. He will also make that man’s family free from taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What did he say? What is the reward for killing this Philistine and taking away this shame from Israel? Who is this Goliath anyway? He is only some foreigner, [ f ] nothing but a Philistine. Why does he think he can speak against the army of the living God?”
27 So the Israelite told David about the reward for killing Goliath. 28 David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers and became angry. Eliab asked David, “Why did you come here? Who did you leave those few sheep with in the desert? I know why you came down here. You didn’t want to do what you were told to do. You just wanted to come down here to watch the battle.”
29 David said, “What did I do now? I didn’t do anything wrong! I was only talking.” 30 He turned to some other people and asked them the same questions. They gave him the same answers as before.
31 Some men heard David talking. They took David to Saul and told him what David had said. 32 David said to Saul, “People shouldn’t let Goliath discourage them. I am your servant. I will go fight this Philistine.”
33 Saul answered, “You can’t go out and fight against this Philistine. You’re not even a soldier! [ g ] Goliath has been fighting in wars since he was a boy.”
34 But David said to Saul, “There were times when I was taking care of my father’s sheep that wild animals came to take some sheep from the flock. Once there was a lion and another time, a bear. 35 I chased that wild animal, attacked it, and took the sheep from its mouth. The wild animal jumped on me, but I caught it by the fur under its mouth. And I hit it and killed it. 36 I killed both a lion and a bear like that! And I will kill that foreigner, Goliath, just like them. Goliath will die because he made fun of the army of the living God. 37 The Lord saved me from the lion and the bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and armor on his body. 39 David put on the sword and tried to walk around. He tried to wear Saul’s uniform, but David was not used to all those heavy things.
David said to Saul, “I can’t fight in these things. I’m not used to them.” So David took them all off. 40 He took his walking stick in his hand and went to find five smooth stones from the stream. He put the five stones in his shepherd’s bag and held his sling in his hand. Then he went out to meet the Philistine.
41 The Philistine slowly walked closer and closer to David. Goliath’s helper walked in front of him, carrying a large shield. 42 Goliath looked at David with disgust. He saw that David was only a handsome, healthy [ h ] boy. [ i ] 43 Goliath said to David, “What is that stick for? Did you come to chase me away like a dog?” Then Goliath used the names of his gods to say curses against David. 44 He said to David, “Come here, and I’ll feed your body to the birds and wild animals.”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said bad things about him. 46 Today the Lord will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel. 47 All the people gathered here will know that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the Lord , and he will help us defeat all of you.”
48 Goliath the Philistine started to attack David. He slowly walked closer and closer toward David, but David ran out to meet Goliath.
49 David took out a stone from his bag. He put it in his sling and swung the sling. The stone flew from the sling and hit Goliath right between the eyes. The stone sank deep into his head, and Goliath fell to the ground—face down.
50 So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and one stone! He hit the Philistine and killed him. David didn’t have a sword, 51 so he ran and stood beside the Philistine. Then David took Goliath’s own sword out of its sheath and used it to cut off his head. That is how David killed the Philistine.
When the other Philistines saw their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 The soldiers of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. The Israelites chased them all the way to the city limits of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. They killed many of the Philistines. Their bodies were scattered along the Shaaraim road all the way to Gath and Ekron. 53 After chasing the Philistines, the Israelites came back to the Philistine camp and took many things from that camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he kept the Philistine’s weapons at home.
55 Saul watched David go out to fight Goliath. Saul spoke to Abner, the commander of the army. “Abner, who is that young man’s father?”
Abner answered, “I swear I don’t know, sir.”
56 King Saul said, “Find out who his father is.”
57 When David came back after killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul. David was still holding the Philistine’s head.
58 Saul asked him, “Young man, who is your father?”
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse, from Bethlehem.”
17 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren;
18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
28 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.
29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 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.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord 's, and he will give you into our hands.
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.
57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
17 Now ( A ) the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between ( B ) Socoh and ( C ) Azekah, in ( D ) Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in ( E ) the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named ( F ) Goliath, from ( G ) Gath. His height was [ a ] six cubits and a [ b ] span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor [ c ] which weighed [ d ] five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze [ e ] greaves on his legs and a ( H ) bronze [ f ] saber slung between his shoulders. 7 ( I ) The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed [ g ] six hundred shekels of iron; and ( J ) his shield-carrier walked in front of him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the ( K ) servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me. 9 ( L ) If he is able to fight me and [ h ] kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and [ i ] kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “ ( M ) I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.
12 Now David was ( N ) the son of [ j ] the ( O ) Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, the man whose name was Jesse, and ( P ) he had eight sons. And [ k ] Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 The three older sons of Jesse had [ l ] followed Saul to the battle. And ( Q ) the names of his three sons who had gone into the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and second to him, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah. 14 So ( R ) David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, 15 ( S ) but David went back and forth from Saul ( T ) to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine came forward morning and evening, and took his stand for forty days.
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “ ( U ) Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 ( V ) Bring also these ten slices of cheese to the commander of their thousand, ( W ) and look into the well-being of your brothers and bring back [ m ] confirmation from them. 19 For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the Valley of Elah, fighting the Philistines.”
20 So David got up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper, and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the ( X ) entrenchment encircling the camp while the army was going out in battle formation, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle formation, army against army. 22 Then David left the ( Y ) baggage in the [ n ] care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line. And he entered and [ o ] greeted his brothers. 23 As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke ( Z ) these same words; and David heard him .
24 When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were very fearful. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will make the man who kills him wealthy with great riches, and ( AA ) will give him his daughter and make his father’s house [ p ] free in Israel.”
26 Then David said to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and rids Israel of ( AB ) the disgrace? For who is this ( AC ) uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to ( AD ) defy the armies of ( AE ) the living God?” 27 The people [ q ] answered him in agreement with this statement, saying, “ ( AF ) This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard him when he spoke to the men; and ( AG ) Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why is it that you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a [ r ] question?” 30 Then he turned [ s ] away from him to another and ( AH ) said the same thing; and the people replied with the same words as [ t ] before.
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they informed [ u ] Saul, and he [ v ] sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “ ( AI ) May no one’s heart fail on account of him; ( AJ ) your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 33 But Saul said to David, “ ( AK ) You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, 35 I went out after it and [ w ] attacked it, and ( AL ) rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has [ x ] killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “ ( AM ) The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “ ( AN ) Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor. 39 And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor . So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them .” And David took them [ y ] off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch, and ( AO ) his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
41 Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, ( AP ) he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and [ z ] ( AQ ) reddish, with a handsome appearance. 43 So the Philistine said to David, “ ( AR ) Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And ( AS ) the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ( AT ) to the birds of the sky and the [ aa ] wild animals.” 45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a [ ab ] saber, ( AU ) but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the ( AV ) dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, ( AW ) so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that this entire assembly may know that ( AX ) the Lord does not save by sword or by spear; ( AY ) for the battle is the Lord ’ s , and He will hand you over to us!”
48 Then it happened, when the Philistine [ ac ] came closer to meet David, that ( AZ ) David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it , and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and ( BA ) took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. ( BB ) When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and they pursued the Philistines [ ad ] as far as the valley, and to the gates of ( BC ) Ekron. And the Philistine dead [ ae ] lay along the way to ( BD ) Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the sons of Israel returned from their close pursuit of the Philistines, and plundered their camps. 54 And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55 Now when Saul had seen David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is ( BE ) this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “You then , ask whose son the youth is.” 57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and ( BF ) brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58 Then Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “ ( BG ) I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
17 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled ( A ) at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh ( B ) and Azekah. ( C ) 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah ( D ) and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath, ( E ) who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. [ a ] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels [ b ] ; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin ( F ) was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, ( G ) and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. [ c ] His shield bearer ( H ) went ahead of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose ( I ) a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy ( J ) the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other. ( K ) ” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite ( L ) named Jesse, ( M ) who was from Bethlehem ( N ) in Judah. Jesse had eight ( O ) sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; ( P ) the second, Abinadab; ( Q ) and the third, Shammah. ( R ) 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend ( S ) his father’s sheep ( T ) at Bethlehem.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah [ d ] ( U ) of roasted grain ( V ) and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers ( W ) are and bring back some assurance [ e ] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ( X ) ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual ( Y ) defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter ( Z ) in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes ( AA ) in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace ( AB ) from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised ( AC ) Philistine that he should defy ( AD ) the armies of the living ( AE ) God?”
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger ( AF ) 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.”
29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart ( AG ) on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, ( AH ) “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion ( AI ) or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized ( AJ ) it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion ( AK ) and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued ( AL ) me from the paw of the lion ( AM ) and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with ( AN ) you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own ( AO ) tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer ( AP ) in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, ( AQ ) and he despised ( AR ) him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, ( AS ) that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds ( AT ) and the wild animals! ( AU ) ”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, ( AV ) but I come against you in the name ( AW ) of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ( AX ) 46 This day the Lord will deliver ( AY ) you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses ( AZ ) of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world ( BA ) will know that there is a God in Israel. ( BB ) 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword ( BC ) or spear that the Lord saves; ( BD ) for the battle ( BE ) is the Lord ’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling ( BF ) and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut ( BG ) off his head with the sword. ( BH )
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath [ f ] and to the gates of Ekron. ( BI ) Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim ( BJ ) road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David ( BK ) going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, ( BL ) whose son is that young man?”
Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.
58 “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.
David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse ( BM ) of Bethlehem.”
