1 Samuel
Chapter 17
1 The Philistines brought their armies together to fight and met at Shochoh, part of Judah, setting up camp between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
2 Saul and the Israelite men came together, camped by the Elah Valley, and arranged their soldiers to fight the Philistines.
3 The Philistines were on one mountain, and Israel was on another, with a valley between them.
4 A great fighter named Goliath from Gath, who was very tall—nine feet and four inches—came out of the Philistine army camp.
5 He wore a bronze helmet and a body armor made of metal, which weighed five thousand bronze coins.
6 He wore bronze armor on his legs and a bronze plate on his back.
7 His spear’s handle was like a weaver’s large pole; the spear’s tip weighed six hundred iron shekels, and a man carrying a shield walked in front of him.
8 He stood and shouted to Israel’s armies, “Why have you come to arrange for battle? Am I not a Philistine and you, Saul’s servants? Pick a man for yourselves, and let him come down to fight me.”
9 If he can fight me and kill me, then we will serve you; but if I beat him and kill him, then you will serve us.
10 The Philistine said, “I challenge Israel’s armies today; give me a man to fight with me.”
11 When Saul and all Israel heard what the Philistine said, they were upset and very scared.
12 David was the son of an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. Jesse was an old man during Saul’s time.
13 Jesse’s three oldest sons joined Saul in the fight: their names were Eliab the eldest, then Abinadab, and the third, Shammah.
14 David was the youngest, and the three oldest followed Saul.
15 David left Saul and went back to take care of his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
16 The Philistine approached every morning and evening for forty days.
17 Jesse told his son David, “Now take an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the camp.”
18 Take these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit, see how your brothers are doing, and bring back something to show they are well.
19 Now Saul, they, and all the Israelite men were in the Elah Valley, fighting the Philistines.
20 David got up early, left the sheep with someone to watch them, and did as Jesse told him. He arrived at the battlefield as the army was heading out to fight and raised a battle cry.
21 Israel and the Philistines arranged their armies for battle, facing each other.
22 David left his supplies with the supply keeper, ran to the soldiers, and greeted his brothers.
23 While he was talking to them, the Philistine warrior from Gath, named Goliath, came out of the Philistine ranks and repeated his challenge, and David heard it.
24 When the men of Israel saw the man, they ran away from him, very scared.
25 The men of Israel asked, “Have you seen this man who has come? He has come to challenge Israel. Whoever kills him will get a lot of wealth from the king, will marry the king’s daughter, and will make his family free in Israel.”
26 David asked the men near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes the disgrace from Israel? Who does this uncircumcised Philistine think he is to insult the armies of the living God?”
27 The people responded to him, saying, “The man who kills him will be treated this way.”
28 When David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men, he became angry at David and asked, “Why did you come here? Who’s taking care of the few sheep you have in the desert? I know you’re proud and mischievous; you just came to watch the fight.”
29 David said, “What did I do now? Isn’t there a reason?”
30 He turned away from him to someone else and spoke in the same way. The people replied to him just as they had before.
31 When they heard what David said, they told Saul, and he called for him.
32 David told Saul, “No one should be afraid; I will go and fight this Philistine.”
33 Saul told David, “You can’t fight this Philistine; you’re only a young boy, and he has been a warrior since he was young.”
34 David said to Saul, “I, your servant, was watching my father’s sheep when a lion and a bear came and took a lamb from the group.”
35 I followed and struck him, saving the victim from his mouth. When he attacked me, I grabbed his beard, hit him, and killed him.
36 I killed both the lion and the bear, and this Philistine who has insulted God’s army will be like one of them.
37 David also said, “God who saved me from the lion’s paw and the bear’s paw, will save me from this Philistine’s hand.” Saul told David, “Go, and may God be with you.”
38 Saul gave David his armor; he put a brass helmet on David’s head and a metal coat on him.
39 David put on his sword over his armor and tried to walk, but he wasn’t used to them. David told Saul, “I can’t walk with these; I’m not used to them.” So, David took them off.
40 He took his staff, picked five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in his shepherd’s pouch, carried his sling, and approached the Philistine.
41 The Philistine advanced and came close to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him.
42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he looked down on him because he was just a young boy with a healthy, handsome face.
43 The Philistine said to David, “Do you think I’m a dog that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine swore at David by his gods.
44 The Philistine said to David, “Come here, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the animals of the land.”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, spear, and shield, but I come to you in the name of God, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have insulted.”
46 Today, God will let me defeat you. I will strike you down and cut off your head. Then I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds and wild animals. And everyone on earth will know that there is a God in Israel.
47 Everyone here will understand that God does not save by sword or spear, because the fight is God’s, and he will let us capture you.
48 When the Philistine got up, approached, and came close to David, David quickly ran towards the army to face the Philistine.
49 David reached into his bag, took out a stone, threw it, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down to the ground.
50 David beat the Philistine with a sling and a stone, hitting and killing him, even though David had no sword in his hand.
51 So David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, pulled it out, killed him, and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw their hero was dead, they ran away.
52 The men of Israel and Judah stood up, yelled, and chased the Philistines until they reached the valley and the gates of Ekron. The injured Philistines dropped along the road to Shaaraim, all the way to Gath and Ekron.
53 The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines and they took things from their tents.
54 David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem; he stored the armor in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David go to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, his army commander, “Abner, who is this young man’s father?” And Abner replied, “As sure as you live, king, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out who the young man’s father is.”
57 After David killed the Philistine, Abner brought him to Saul, holding the Philistine’s head.
58 Saul asked him, “Who is your father, young man?” And David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse from Bethlehem.”