1 Samuel 17
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. 4A champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span#17:4 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. A span is the length from the tip of a man’s thumb to the tip of his little finger when his hand is stretched out (about half a cubit, or 9 inches, or 22.8 cm.) Therefore, Goliath was about 9 feet and 9 inches or 2.97 meters tall. went out. 5He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he wore a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels#17:5 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 5000 shekels is about 50 kilograms or 110 pounds. of bronze. 6He had bronze shin armor on his legs and a bronze javelin 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.#17:7 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 600 shekels is about 6 kilograms or about 13 pounds. 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 is 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 today! 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. 12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons. The man was an elderly old man in the days of Saul. 13The three oldest 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 oldest followed Saul. 15Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 The Philistine came near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
17 Jesse said to David his son, “Now take for your brothers an efah#17:17 1 efah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel 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.
20 David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the place of the wagons as the army which was going out 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, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and said 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. The king will give great riches to the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house tax-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 the reproach 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.”
28Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned 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 evil of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.”
29 David 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.”
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 a man of war from his youth.”
34 David 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, struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, 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, will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go! The LORD will be with you.”
38 Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of bronze 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.” Then David took them off.
40 He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine. 41The Philistine walked and came near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42When the Philistine looked around and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and had a good looking 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.”
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. 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 today 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.”
48 When the Philistine arose, and walked and came near to meet David, 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. 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 David’s hand. 51Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it.
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 as far as 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 out 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.”
56 The king said, “Inquire 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. 58Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, you young man?”
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Shemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 17
17
1And the Philistines had gathered their armies for battle, and came together at Soḵoh, which belongs to Yehuḏah, and encamped between Soḵoh and Azĕqah, in Ephes Dammim.
2And Sha’ul and the men of Yisra’ĕl were gathered and encamped in the Valley of Ělah, and drew up in battle array to meet the Philistines.
3And the Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Yisra’ĕl stood on a mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.
4Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines, named Golyath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5And a bronze helmet was on his head, and he was armed with a scaled armour, and the weight of the coat was five thousand sheqels of bronze,
6and bronze shin guards on his legs and a bronze spear between his shoulders.
7And the wood of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred sheqels, and a shield-bearer went before him.
8And he stood and shouted to the armies of Yisra’ĕl, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Sha’ul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
9“If he is able to fight with me, and shall strike me, then we shall be your servants. But if I overcome him and shall strike him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
10Then the Philistine said, “This day I shall reproach the armies of Yisra’ĕl. Give me a man, and let us fight together.”
11And Sha’ul and all Yisra’ĕl heard these words of the Philistine, and they were broken down and in great fear.
12Now Dawiḏ was the son of that Ephrathite of Bĕyth Leḥem in Yehuḏah, whose name was Yishai, and he had eight sons, and in the days of Sha’ul the man was old among men.
13And the three oldest sons of Yishai went, they had gone to follow Sha’ul to the battle, and the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliyaḇ the first-born, and his second Aḇinaḏaḇ, and the third Shammah.
14And Dawiḏ was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Sha’ul,
15but Dawiḏ went and returned from Sha’ul to feed his father’s sheep at Bĕyth Leḥem.
16And for forty days the Philistine drew near, morning and evening, and took his stand.
17Then Yishai said to his son Dawiḏ, “Please take to your brothers an ĕphah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp.
18“And take these ten cheeses to the commander of the thousand, and see how your brothers are, and bring back news of them.”
19For Sha’ul and they and all the men of Yisra’ĕl were in the Valley of Ělah, fighting with the Philistines.
20And Dawiḏ rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a herdsman, and took and went as Yishai had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight, and they shouted for the battle.
21And Yisra’ĕl and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army.
22And Dawiḏ left his supplies in the hand of the keeper of the supplies, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
23And he was speaking with them and saw the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Golyath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines. And he spoke according to the same words, and Dawiḏ heard.
24And all the men of Yisra’ĕl, when they saw the man, ran from him and were in great fear.
25And the men of Yisra’ĕl said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? For he has come up to reproach Yisra’ĕl. And it shall be that the man who strikes him, the sovereign is going to enrich him with great riches, and give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption in Yisra’ĕl.”
26And Dawiḏ spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who strikes this Philistine and shall take away reproach from Yisra’ĕl? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should reproach the armies of the living Elohim?”
27And the people answered him according to this word, saying, “This is what is done for the man who strikes him.”
28And Eliyaḇ his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliyaḇ’s displeasure burned against Dawiḏ, 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 evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29And Dawiḏ said, “Now what have I done? Was it not but a word?”
30And he turned around from him toward another and said the same word. And these people answered him a word like the first word.
31And when the words which Dawiḏ spoke were heard, they reported them to Sha’ul, and he sent for him.
32And Dawiḏ said to Sha’ul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him, your servant is going, and shall fight with this Philistine.”
33And Sha’ul said to Dawiḏ, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he a man of battle from his youth.”
34Then Dawiḏ said to Sha’ul, “Your servant has been tending sheep for his father, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
35I went out after it and struck it, and rescued it from its mouth. And when it rose against me, I took hold of it by its beard, and struck it and killed it.
36“Your servant has stricken both lion and bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, seeing he has reproached the armies of the living Elohim.”
37And Dawiḏ said, “יהוה, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He does deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Sha’ul said to Dawiḏ, “Go, and יהוה be with you!”
38And Sha’ul dressed Dawiḏ with his garments, and he put a bronze helmet on his head, and put a coat of armour on him.
39And Dawiḏ girded his sword over his garments, and began to go, but he had not tried them. Then Dawiḏ said to Sha’ul, “I am not able to go with these, for I have not tried them.” So Dawiḏ took them off.
40And he took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
41And the Philistine came, and began drawing near to Dawiḏ, and the man who bore the shield went before him.
42And when the Philistine looked about and saw Dawiḏ, he despised him, for he was a youth, and ruddy and of handsome appearance.
43And the Philistine said to Dawiḏ, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed Dawiḏ by his mighty ones.
44And the Philistine said to Dawiḏ, “Come to me, and I give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field!”
45But Dawiḏ 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 יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of the armies of Yisra’ĕl, whom you have reproached.
46“This day יהוה shall deliver you into my hand, and I shall strike you and take your head from you, and give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines today to the birds of the heavens and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth know that Elohim is for Yisra’ĕl,
47and all this assembly know that יהוה does not save with sword and spear, for the battle belongs to יהוה, and He shall give you into our hands.”
48And it came to be, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet Dawiḏ, that Dawiḏ hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49And Dawiḏ put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
50Thus Dawiḏ was stronger than the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in the hand of Dawiḏ.
51Then Dawiḏ 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 with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
52And the men of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Eqron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the way to Sha‛arayim, even as far as Gath and Eqron.
53Then the children of Yisra’ĕl turned back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camps.
54And Dawiḏ took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Yerushalayim, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55And when Sha’ul saw Dawiḏ going out against the Philistine, he said to Aḇnĕr, the commander of the army, “Aḇnĕr, whose son is this youth?” And Aḇnĕr said, “As your being lives, O sovereign, I do not know.”
56And the sovereign said, “Ask whose son this young man is.”
57And when Dawiḏ returned from the striking of the Philistine, Aḇnĕr took him and brought him before Sha’ul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58And Sha’ul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And Dawiḏ said, “The son of your servant Yishai the Bĕyth Leḥemite.”
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