I Samuel 17

¹Now the Philistines got their armies together for war, and came together at Socoh in the land of Judah, and took up their position between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

²And Saul and the men of Israel came together and took up their position in the valley of Elah, and put their forces in order against the Philistines.

³The Philistines were stationed on the mountain on one side and Israel on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

⁴And a fighter came out from the tents of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath; he was more than six cubits tall.

⁵And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass.

⁶His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass.

⁷The stem of his spear was as long as a cloth-worker's rod, and its head was made of six hundred shekels' weight of iron: and one went before him with his body-cover.

⁸He took up his position and in a loud voice said to the armies of Israel, Why have you come out to make war? Am I not a Philistine and you servants of Saul? Send out a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.

⁹If he is able to have a fight with me and overcome me, then we will be your servants: but if I am able to overcome him, then you will be our servants and do work for us.

¹⁰And the Philistine said, I have put to shame the armies of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may have a fight together.

¹¹And Saul and all Israel, hearing those words of the Philistine, were troubled and full of fear.

¹²Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah named Jesse, who had eight sons; and he was an old man in Saul's day, and far on in years.

¹³And the three oldest sons of Jesse had gone with Saul to the fight: the names of the three who went to the fight were Eliab, the oldest, and Abinadab the second, and Shammah the third.

¹⁴And David was the youngest: and the three oldest were with Saul's army.

¹⁵Now David went to and from Saul, looking after his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.

¹⁶And the Philistine came near every morning and evening for forty days.

¹⁷And Jesse said to his son David, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dry grain and these ten cakes of bread, and go quickly with them to the tents to your brothers;

¹⁸And take these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are and come back with a sign to say how they are.

¹⁹Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰And David got up early in the morning, and, giving the sheep into the care of a keeper, took the things and went as Jesse had said; and he came to the lines where the carts were, when the army was going out to the fight giving their war-cry.

²¹And Israel and the Philistines had put their forces in position, army against army.

²²And David gave his parcels into the hands of the keeper of the army stores, and went running to the army and came to his brothers to get knowledge about them.

²³And while he was talking to them, the fighter, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came out from the Philistines' lines and said the same words, in David's hearing.

²⁴And all the men of Israel, when they saw him, went in flight, overcome with fear.

²⁵And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man? Clearly he has come out to put shame on Israel: and it is certain that if any man overcomes him, the king will give that man great wealth, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's family free in Israel.

²⁶And David said to the men near him, What will be done to the man who overcomes this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? for who is this Philistine, a man without circumcision, that he has put shame on the armies of the living God?

²⁷And the people gave him this answer, So it will be done to the man who overcomes him.

²⁸And Eliab, his oldest brother, hearing what David said to the men, was moved to wrath against David, and said, Why have you come here? Into whose care have you given that little flock of sheep in the waste land? I have knowledge of your pride and the evil of your heart, you have come down to see the fight.

²⁹And David said, What have I done now? was it not only a word?

³⁰And turning away from him to one of the other men, he said the same words: and the people gave him the same answer.

³¹And, hearing what David said, they gave Saul word of it: and he sent for him.

³²And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart become feeble because of him; I, your servant, will go out and have a fight with this Philistine.

³³And Saul said to David, You are not able to go out against this Philistine and have a fight with him: for you are only a boy, and he has been a man of war from his earliest days.

³⁴And David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeper of his father's sheep; and if a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,

³⁵I went out after him, and overcame him, and took it out of his mouth: and if, turning on me, he came at me, I took him by the hair and overcame him and put him to death.

³⁶Your servant has overcome lion and bear: and the fate of this Philistine, who is without circumcision, will be like theirs, seeing that he has put shame on the armies of the living God.

³⁷And David said, The Lord, who kept me safe from the grip of the lion and the bear, will be my saviour from the hands of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go! and may the Lord be with you.

³⁸Then Saul gave David his clothing of war, and put a head-dress of brass on his head and had him clothed with a coat of metal.

³⁹And David took Saul's sword and put the band round him over the metal coat, and was unable to go forward; for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, It is not possible for me to go out with these, for I am not used to them. So David took them off.

⁴⁰Then he took his stick in his hand, and got five smooth stones from the bed of the stream and put them in a bag such as is used by sheep-keepers; and in his hand was a leather band used for sending stones: and so he went in the direction of the Philistine.

⁴¹And the Philistine came nearer to David; and the man who had his body-cover went before him.

⁴²And when the Philistine, taking note, saw David, he had a poor opinion of him: for he was only a boy, red-haired and good-looking.

⁴³And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come out to me with sticks? And the Philistine put curses on David by all his gods.

⁴⁴And 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.

⁴⁵Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin: but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel on which you have put shame.

⁴⁶This day the Lord will give you up into my hands, and I will overcome you, and take your head off you; and I will give the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth today, so that all the earth may see that Israel has a God;

⁴⁷And all these people who are here today may see that the Lord does not give salvation by sword and spear: for the fight is the Lord's, and he will give you up into our hands.

⁴⁸Now when the Philistine made a move and came near to David, David quickly went at a run in the direction of the army, meeting the Philistine face to face.

⁴⁹And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and sent it from his leather band straight at the Philistine, and the stone went deep into his brow, and he went down to the earth, falling on his face.

⁵⁰So David overcame the Philistine with his leather band and a stone, wounding the Philistine and causing his death: but David had no sword in his hand.

⁵¹So running up to the Philistine and putting his foot on him, David took his sword out of its cover, and put him to death, cutting off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their fighter was dead, they went in flight.

⁵²And the men of Israel and of Judah got up, and gave a cry, and went after the Philistines as far as Gath and the town doors of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines were falling down by the road from Shaaraim all the way to Gath and Ekron.

⁵³Then the children of Israel came back from going after the Philistines, and took their goods from the tents.

⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine to Jerusalem, but the metal war-dress and the arms he put in his tent.

⁵⁵And when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, On your life, O king, I have no idea.

⁵⁶And the king said, Make search and see whose son this young man is.

⁵⁷And when David was coming back after the destruction of the Philistine, Abner took him to Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

⁵⁸And Saul said to him, Young man, whose son are you? And David in answer said, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Beth-lehem.

I Samuel 17

¹Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.

²Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

³The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

⁴There went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

⁵He had a helmet of brass on his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

⁶He had brass shin armor on his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.

⁷The staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield bearer went before him.

⁸He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, "Why have you come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.

⁹If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then you will be our servants, and serve us."

¹⁰The Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel this day! Give me a man, that we may fight together!"

¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

¹²Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken among men.

¹³The three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

¹⁴David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.

¹⁵Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

¹⁶The Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

¹⁷Jesse said to David his son, "Now take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers;

¹⁸and bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are doing, and bring back news."

¹⁹Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰David 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 place of the wagons, as the army which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.

²¹Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.

²²David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.

²³As he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them.

²⁴All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were terrified.

²⁵The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? He has surely come up to defy Israel. It shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house exempt in Israel."

²⁶David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

²⁷The people answered him in this way, saying, "So shall it be done to the man who kills him."

²⁸Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, "Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle."

²⁹David said, "What have I now done? Is there not a cause?"

³⁰He turned away from him toward another, and spoke like that again; and the people answered him again the same way.

³¹When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.

³²David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

³³Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

³⁴David said to Saul, "Your servant was keeping his father's sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock,

³⁵I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him.

³⁶Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God."

³⁷David said, "The Lord who 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." Saul said to David, "Go; and the Lord shall be with you."

³⁸Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.

³⁹David strapped his sword on his clothing, and he tried to move; for he had not tested it. David said to Saul, "I can't go with these; for I have not tested them." David took them off.

⁴⁰He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet. His sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴¹The Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him.

⁴²When the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair face.

⁴³The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" The Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴The 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."

⁴⁵Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

⁴⁶Today, the Lord will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that the Lord doesn't save with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand."

⁴⁸It happened, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

⁵¹Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head therewith. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

⁵²The men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until you come to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.

⁵³The children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.

⁵⁴David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵When Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, "Abner, whose son is this youth?" Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I can't tell."

⁵⁶The king said, "Inquire whose son the young man is!"

⁵⁷As 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.

⁵⁸Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, you young man?" David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."