1 Samuel 17

David and Goliath

1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim.2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weavers beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall 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 these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul.13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his fathers sheep at Bethlehem.16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.17 Then Jesse said to his son David, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp.18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle.21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army.22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.25 So the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his fathers house exemption from taxes in Israel.26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done for 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?27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, So shall it be done for the man who kills him.28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliabs anger was aroused against David, and he said, Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.29 And David said, What have I done now? Is there not a cause?30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did. 31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.32 Then David said to Saul, Let no mans heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.34 But David said to Saul, Your servant used to keep his fathers sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.37 Moreover David said, The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them. So David took them off.40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherds bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him.42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.43 So the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!45 Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, 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.46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lords, and He will give you into our hands.48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.56 So the king said, Inquire whose son this young man is. 57 Then, 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 are you, young man? So David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

1 SAMUEL 17

Goliath Challenges //Israel's Army

1 The Philistines got ready for war and brought their troops together to attack the town of Socoh in Judah. They set up camp at Ephes-Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.t

2-3 King Saul and the Israelite army set up camp on a hill overlooking Elah Valley, and they got ready to fight the Philistine army that was on a hill on the other side of the valley.
4 The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and was about three meters t tall. 5-6 He wore a bronze helmet and had bronze armor to protect his chest and legs. The chest armor alone weighed about 57 kilograms . He carried a bronze sword strapped on his back,

7 and his spear was so big that the iron spearhead alone weighed about seven kilograms . A soldier always walked in front of Goliath to carry his shield.

8 Goliath went out and shouted to the army of Israel:
Why are you lining up for battle? I'm the best soldier in our army, and all of you are in Saul's army. Choose your best soldier to come out and fight me! 9 If he can kill me, our people will be your slaves. But if I kill him, your people will be our slaves.

10 Here and now I challenge Israel's whole army! Choose someone to fight me!

11 Saul and his men heard what Goliath said, but they were so frightened of Goliath that they couldn't do a thing.

David Decides To Challenge //Goliath

13-14 the oldest was Eliab, the next was Abinadab, and Shammah was the third. The three of them had gone off to fight in Saul's army.
David was Jesse's youngest son.

15 t He took care of his father's sheep, and he went back and forth between Bethlehem and Saul's camp.

16 Goliath came out and gave his challenge every morning and every evening for 40 days.
17 One day, Jesse told David, “Hurry and take this sack of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the army camp. 18 And here are ten large chunks of cheese to take to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back something that shows that they're all right.

19 They're with Saul's army, fighting the Philistines in Elah Valley.”
20 David obeyed his father. He got up early the next morning and left someone else in charge of the sheep; then he loaded the supplies and started off. He reached the army camp just as the soldiers were taking their places and shouting the battle cry.

21 The army of Israel and the Philistine army stood there facing each other.
22 David left his things with the man in charge of supplies and ran up to the battle line to ask his brothers if they were well.

23 While David was talking with them, Goliath came out from the line of Philistines and started boasting as usual. David heard him.
24 When the Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were scared and ran off.

25 They said to each other, “Look how he keeps coming out to insult us. The king is offering a big reward to the man who kills Goliath. That man will even get to marry the king's daughter, and no one in his family will ever have to pay taxes again.”

26 David asked some soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine think he is? He's making fun of the army of the living God!”

27 The soldiers told David what the king would give the man who killed Goliath.

28 David's oldest brother Eliab heard him talking with the soldiers. Eliab was angry with him and said, “What are you doing here, anyway? Who's taking care of your little flock of sheep out in the desert? You spoiled brat! You came here just to watch the fighting, didn't you?”
29 “Now what have I done?” David answered. “Can't I even ask a question?”

30 Then he turned and asked another soldier the same thing he had asked the others, and he got the same answer.
31 Some soldiers overheard David talking, so they told Saul what David had said. Saul sent for David, and David came.

32 “Your Majesty,” he said, “this Philistine shouldn't turn us into cowards. I'll go out and fight him myself!”

33 “You don't have a chance against him,” Saul replied. “You're only a boy, and he's been a soldier all his life.”

34 But David told him:
Your Majesty, I take care of my father's sheep. And when one of them is dragged off by a lion or a bear,

35 I go after it and beat the wild animal until it lets the sheep go. If the wild animal turns and attacks me, I grab it by the throat and kill it.
36 Sir, I have killed lions and bears that way, and I can kill this worthless Philistine. He shouldn't have made fun of the army of the living God!

37 The [Lord] has rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe from the hands of this Philistine.
“All right,” Saul answered, “go ahead and fight him. And I hope the [Lord] will help you.”
38 Saul had his own military clothes and armor put on David, and he gave David a bronze helmet to wear.

39 David strapped on a sword and tried to walk around, but he was not used to wearing those things.
“I can't move with all this stuff on,” David said. “I'm just not used to it.”
David took off the armor

40 and picked up his shepherd's stick. He went out to a stream and picked up five smooth rocks and put them in his leather bag. Then with his sling in his hand, he went straight toward Goliath.

David Kills Goliath

44 and shouted, “Come on! When I'm finished with you, I'll feed you to the birds and wild animals!”

45 David answered:
You've come out to fight me with a sword and a spear and a dagger. But I've come out to fight you in the name of the [Lord] All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel's army, and you have insulted him too!
46 Today the [Lord] will help me defeat you. I'll knock you down and cut off your head, and I'll feed the bodies of the other Philistine soldiers to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a real God.

47 Everybody here will see that the [Lord] doesn't need swords or spears to save his people. The [Lord] always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.
48 When Goliath started forward, David ran toward him. 49 He put a rock in his sling and swung the sling around by its straps. When he let go of one strap, the rock flew out and hit Goliath on the forehead. It cracked his skull, and he fell facedown on the ground.

50 t David defeated Goliath with a sling and a rock. He killed him without even using a sword.

51  t David ran over and pulled out Goliath's sword. Then he used it to cut off Goliath's head.
When the Philistines saw what had happened to their hero, they started running away.

52 But the soldiers of Israel and Judah let out a battle cry and went after them as far as Gatht and Ekron. The bodies of the Philistines were scattered all along the road from Shaaraim to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelite army returned from chasing the Philistines, they took what they wanted from the enemy camp.

54 David took Goliath's head to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath's weapons in his own tent.

David Becomes One //of Saul's Officers

55 After King Saul had watched David go out to fight Goliath, Saul turned to the commander of his army and said, “Abner, who is that young man?”
“Your Majesty,” Abner answered, “I swear by your life that I don't know.”

56 “Then find out!” Saul told him.

57 When David came back from fighting Goliath, he was still carrying Goliath's head.
Abner took David to Saul,

58 and Saul asked, “Who are you?”
“I am David the son of Jesse, a loyal Israelite from Bethlehem.”