First Samuel Chapter 17
1 The Philistines gathered their armies for battle, and gathered at Socoh of Judah, and pitched between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
2 Saul and the men of Israel had gathered and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in order against the Philistines.
3 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 A champion named Goliath came out of the Philistines camp. He was from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.
5 A bronze helmet was on his head, and he was armed with scaled armor. And the weight of the coat was 5,000 shekels of bronze.
6 Greaves of bronze were on his legs, and a bronze javelin was between his shoulders.
7 The staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam. And his spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron. And the shield bearer went in front of him.
8 He stood and shouted to the armies of Israel, Why have you come to set your battle in order? Am I not a Philistine? And are you not servants to Saul? Choose a man for you and let him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our slaves and serve us.
10 The Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man, and we will fight together.
11 Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah named Jesse. To him were eight sons and the man was old among men in the days of Saul.
13 The three oldest sons of Jesse went out and followed Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn and his second Abinadab and the third Shammah.
14 David was the youngest and the three oldest followed Saul.
15 David returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
16 The Philistine drew near morning and evening and presented himself 40 days.
17 Jesse said to his son David, Please take for your brothers a bushel of this parched grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers.
18 Carry these ten cuttings of cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers are faring and take their pledge.
19 Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.
20 David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper. He went as Jesse had commanded him and came to the barricade and to the army that was going out to fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in order, rank to rank.
22 David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the army and greeted his brothers.
23 He was speaking with them, and behold, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine of Gath, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke according to these words. And David heard.
24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, they ran from him and were very afraid.
25 The men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come? Surely he has come to defy Israel. The king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.
26 David spoke to the men who stood by him saying, What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine and takes away this shame from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?
27 The people answered him in this way saying, So shall it be done to the man who kills him.
28 His oldest brother Eliab heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, Why have you come down? And 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 to see the battle.
29 David said, What have I done now? Was it not only a word?
30 He turned from him toward another, and spoke according to this word. And the people answered him again in the same way.
31 The words that David spoke were heard and were told to Saul and he sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. For you are but a youth and he is a man of war from his youth.
34 David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep and a lion and a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock.
35 I went out after it and struck it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth. When it rose against me, I caught it by the beard and struck it and killed it.
36 Your servant killed both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them since he has defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said, The Lord who has delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may the Lord be with you.
38 Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of bronze on his head. He also armed him with scaled armor.
39 David dressed⁺ his sword on his armor, and he tried to go. But he had not tested it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. And David put them off him.
40 He took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook for himself. He put them in a shepherd's bag with his sling in his hand, and he drew near the Philistine.
41 The Philistine drew near to David with his shield before him.
42 Then he saw David and disdained him for he was only a youth and ruddy with a handsome appearance.
43 The Philistine said to David, Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 He said to David, Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.
45 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 hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied.
46 The Lord will deliver you into my hand today and I will strike you and take your head from you and give the bodies of the army of the Philistines to the birds of the air today and to the wild beasts of the earth so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 All this multitude will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands.
48 When the Philistine drew near to meet David, David ran toward the ranks to meet the Philistine.
49 David put his hand into his bag and took a stone from there and 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 David was stronger than the Philistine with a sling and a stone. He struck the Philistine and killed him, but no sword was in the hand of David.
51 Then David ran and stood on the Philistine and took out his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. Then the Philistines saw that their champion was dead and they fled.
52 The men of Israel rose and shouted and Judah pursued the Philistines until they came to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down on the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and to Ekron.
53 The children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines and they spoiled their tents.
54 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 go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this young man? Abner said, As your soul lives O king, I cannot tell.
56 The king said, You go and ask whose son the young man is.
57 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 Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.