1 Samuel 17
17
Goliath’s Challenge
1Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle and were assembled at Socoh, which belongs to Judah; and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and they camped in the Valley of Elah, and assembled in battle formation to meet the Philistines. 3The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side and Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4Then a #17:4 The Hebrew refers to one who fights alone, single-handedly representing his nation. If warring nations agree to the contest, a great deal of bloodshed can be avoided.champion came out from the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was #17:4 I.e. about nine feet, ten inches.six cubits and a span. 5He had a bronze helmet on his head, and wore a coat of scale-armor (overlapping metal plates) which weighed #17:5 The weight is uncertain, but may have been 100 lbs. or more.5,000 shekels of bronze. 6He had bronze shin protectors on his legs and a bronze #17:6 Or perhaps a scimitar (short curved sword).javelin hung between his shoulders. 7The [wooden] shaft of his spear was like a #17:7 I.e. the cross beam of a loom.weaver’s beam; the blade-head of his spear weighed #17:7 Probably 12 lbs. or more.six hundred shekels of iron. And a #17:7 The shield was the type designed to protect the whole body, so it was probably about eight and one-half feet tall.shield-bearer walked in front of him. 8Goliath stood and shouted to the battle lines of Israel, saying to them, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not the Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and have him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10Again the Philistine said, “I defy the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may fight together.” 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12Now David was the son of the #17:12 Lit this. “Ephrathite” was an older name for a resident of Bethlehem.Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13His three older sons had followed Saul into battle. The names of his three sons who went to battle were Eliab, the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah. 14David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, 15but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. 16The Philistine [Goliath] came out morning and evening, and took his stand for forty days.
17Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread and run quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18Also take these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of the #17:18 Lit thousand.unit. See how your brothers are doing and bring back news of them. 19Now they are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
David Accepts the Challenge
20So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, picked up the provisions and went just as Jesse had directed him. And he came to the encampment as the army was going out in battle formation shouting the battle cry. 21Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle formation, army against army. 22Then David left his provisions in the care of the supply keeper, and ran to the ranks and came and greeted his brothers. 23As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words again; and David heard him.
24When the men of Israel all saw the man, they fled from him, and were very frightened. 25The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. The king will reward the man who kills him with great riches, and will give him his daughter [in marriage] and make his father’s house (family) free [from taxes and service] in Israel.”
26Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes the disgrace [of his taunting] from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God?” 27The men #17:27 Lit spoke according to this word.told him, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28Now Eliab his oldest brother heard what he said to the men; and Eliab’s #17:28 Lit his nose got hot.anger burned against David and he said, “Why have you come down here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption (overconfidence) and the evil of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a [harmless] question?” 30Then David turned away from Eliab to someone else and asked the same question; and the people gave him the same answer as the first time.
David Kills Goliath
31When the words that David spoke were heard, the men reported them to Saul, and he sent for him. 32David said to Saul, “Let no man’s #17:32 Lit heart.courage fail because of him (Goliath). Your servant will go out and fight with this Philistine.” 33Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him. For you are [only] a young man and he has been a warrior since his youth.” 34But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35I went out after it and attacked it and rescued the lamb from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I seized it by its whiskers and struck and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God.” 37David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38Then Saul dressed David in his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and put a coat of mail (armor) on him. 39Then David fastened his sword over his armor and tried to walk, [but he could not,] because he was not used to them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I am not used to them.” So David took them off. 40Then he took his [shepherd’s] staff in his hand and chose for himself five #17:40 Smooth stones offered less resistance to the air in flight and would travel with greater speed and accuracy. The sling was a pouch attached to the ends of two long leather thongs, and was a formidable weapon (as the Philistine giant was about to discover).smooth stones out of the stream bed, and put them in his shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch. With his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
41The Philistine came and approached David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42When the Philistine looked around and saw David, he derided and disparaged him because he was [just] a young man, with a ruddy complexion, and a handsome appearance. 43The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with [shepherd’s] staffs?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a #17:45 This weapon may have been similar to a scimitar (short curved sword).javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that this entire assembly may know that the Lord does not save with the sword or with the spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will hand you over to us.”
48When the Philistine rose and came forward to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
50So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck down the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51So he ran and stood over the Philistine, grasped his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their [mighty] champion was dead, they fled. 52The men of Israel and Judah stood with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance to the valley and the gates of Ekron. And the [fatally] wounded Philistines fell along the way to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53The sons of Israel returned from their pursuit of the Philistines and plundered their camp. 54Then David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55When 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 answered, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56The king said, “Ask whose son the young man is.” 57When David returned from killing [Goliath] the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58Saul asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
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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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