1 Samuel 17
17
David versus Goliath
1The Philistines#1Sm 13:5 gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh#2Ch 28:18 and Azekah#Jos 10:10 in Ephes-dammim.#1Ch 11:13 2Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah;#1Sm 21:9 then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.
3The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them. 4Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath,#2Sm 21:18–22; 1Ch 20:4–8 came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches#17:4 DSS, LXX read four cubits and a span; i.e., six and a half feet#17:4 Lit was six cubits and a span tall 5and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds.#17:5 Lit 5,000 shekels 6There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin#1Sm 17:45 was slung between his shoulders. 7His spear shaft#2Sm 21:19; 1Ch 11:23 was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds.#17:7 Lit 600 shekels In addition, a shield-bearer#1Sm 17:41 was walking in front of him.
8He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul?#1Sm 8:17 Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. 9If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.”#2Sm 2:12–16 10Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today.#1Sm 17:26,36,45 Send me a man so we can fight each other!” 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.
12Now David was the son of the Ephrathite#Gn 35:19 from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons#1Sm 16:10–11; 1Ch 2:13–15 and during Saul’s reign was already an old man. 13Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names#1Sm 16:6,8–9 were Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third, 14and David was the youngest.#1Sm 16:11 The three oldest had followed Saul, 15but David kept going back and forth from Saul#1Sm 16:21–23 to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem.
16Every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. 17One day Jesse had told his son David, “Take this half-bushel#17:17 Lit this ephah of roasted grain along with these ten loaves of bread#1Sm 25:18 for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18Also take these ten portions of cheese to the field commander.#17:18 Lit the leader of 1,000 Check on the well-being of your brothers#Gn 37:13–14 and bring a confirmation from them. 19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.”
20So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had charged him.
He arrived at the perimeter of the camp#1Sm 26:5,7 as the army was marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry. 21Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other. 22David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster#Jdg 18:21; Is 10:28 and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were. 23While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words,#1Sm 17:8–10 which David heard. 24When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.
25Previously, an Israelite man had declared, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter.#Jos 15:16 The king will also make the family of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”#1Sm 8:11
26David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?#1Sm 11:2 Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine#1Sm 14:6; 17:36; Jr 9:25–26 that he should defy the armies#1Sm 17:10 of the living God?” #Dt 5:26; 2Kg 19:4
27The troops told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”#1Sm 17:25
28David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him.#Gn 37:4,8–36 “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart — you came down to see the battle!”
29“What have I done now?” protested David. “It was just a question.” 30Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before.#1Sm 17:26–27
31What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him. 32David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him;#Dt 20:1–4 your servant will go#1Sm 16:18 and fight this Philistine!”
33But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”
34David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth.#Am 3:12 If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur,#17:35 LXX reads throat; lit beard strike it down, and kill it. 36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”#2Tm 4:17–18
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”#1Sm 20:13
38Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 39David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. 40Instead, he took his staff in his hand#Jdg 20:16 and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
41The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him#Pr 16:18 because he was just a youth, healthy#17:42 Or ruddy#1Sm 16:12 and handsome. 43He said to David, “Am I a dog#1Sm 24:14 that you come against me with sticks?” #17:43 Some LXX mss add and stones?” And David said, “No! Worse than a dog!” Then he cursed David by his gods.#1Kg 20:10 44“Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” #1Sm 17:46
45David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel — you have defied him.#2Ch 32:7–8; Ps 124:8; Heb 11:34 46Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses#17:46 LXX reads give your limbs and the limbs of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,#1Kg 18:36; 2Kg 19:19; Is 37:20 47and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves,#Hs 1:7 for the battle is the Lord’s.#Ex 14:13–14; Ps 33:16–22; 44:4–8 He will hand you over to us.”
48When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.#Ps 27:3 49David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. 50David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. 51David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword,#1Sm 21:9 pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.#Heb 11:34 52The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.#17:52 LXX reads Ashkelon#Jos 15:11 Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road#Jos 15:36 to Gath and Ekron.
53When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. 54David took Goliath’s#17:54 Lit the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 # 17:55 LXX omits 1Sm 17:55–18:5 When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” #1Sm 16:17–22; 17:25
“Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.
56The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”
57When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.#1Sm 17:54 58Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,”#1Sm 17:12 David answered.
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1 Samuel 17: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
1 Samuel 17
17
David and Goliath
1The Philistines assembled their armies for war. They assembled at Socoh, which is in Judah, and camped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim. 2So Saul and the army of Israel assembled and camped in the Elah Valley. They formed a battle line to fight the Philistines. 3The Philistines were stationed on a hill on one side, and the Israelites were stationed on a hill on the other side. There was a ravine between the two of them.
4The Philistine army’s champion came out of their camp. His name was Goliath from Gath. He was ten feet tall.#17:4 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek “seven feet tall.” 5He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore a bronze coat of armor scales weighing 125 pounds. 6On his legs he had bronze shin guards and on his back a bronze javelin. 7The shaft of his spear was like the beam used by weavers. The head of his spear was made of 15 pounds of iron. The man who carried his shield walked ahead of him.
8Goliath stood and called to the Israelites, “Why do you form a battle line? Am I not a Philistine, and aren’t you Saul’s servants? Choose a man, and let him come down to ⌞fight⌟ me. 9If he can fight me and kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I overpower him and kill him, then you will be our slaves and serve us.” 10The Philistine added, “I challenge the Israelite battle line today. Send out a man so that we can fight each other.” 11When Saul and all the Israelites heard what this Philistine said, they were gripped with fear.
12David was a son of a man named Jesse from the region of Ephrath and the city of Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s day he was an old man.#17:12 Greek; Masoretic Text “he came a leader among men.” 13Jesse’s three oldest sons joined Saul’s army for the battle. The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, the third was Shammah, 14and David was the youngest. The three oldest joined Saul’s army. 15David went back and forth from Saul’s camp to Bethlehem, where he tended his father’s flock.
16Each morning and evening for 40 days, the Philistine came forward and made his challenge.
17Jesse told his son David, “Take this half-bushel of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers. Take them to your brothers in the camp right away. 18And take these ten cheeses to the captain of the regiment. See how your brothers are doing, and bring back some news about them. 19They, along with Saul and all the soldiers of Israel, are in the Elah Valley fighting the Philistines.”
20David got up early in the morning and had someone else watch ⌞the sheep⌟. He took ⌞the food⌟ and went, as Jesse ordered him. He went to the camp as the army was going out to the battle line shouting their war cry. 21Israel and the Philistines formed their battle lines facing each other. 22David left the supplies behind in the hands of the quartermaster, ran to the battle line, and greeted his brothers. 23While he was talking to them, the Philistine champion, Goliath from Gath, came from the battle lines of the Philistines. He repeated his words, and David heard them. 24When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him because they were terrified. 25The men of Israel said, “Did you see that man coming ⌞from the Philistine lines⌟? He keeps coming to challenge Israel. The king will make the man who kills this Philistine very rich. He will give his daughter to that man to marry and elevate the social status of his family.”
26David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and gets rid of Israel’s disgrace? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should challenge the army of the living God?”
27The soldiers repeated ⌞to David⌟ how the man who kills Goliath would be treated.
28Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard David talking to the men. Then Eliab became angry with David. “Why did you come here,” he asked him, “and with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how overconfident and headstrong you are. You came here just to see the battle.”
29“What have I done now?” David snapped at him. “Didn’t I ⌞merely⌟ ask a question?” 30He turned to face another man and asked the same question, and the other soldiers gave him the same answer.
31What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, who then sent for him. 32David told Saul, “No one should be discouraged because of this. I will go and fight this Philistine.”
33Saul responded to David, “You can’t fight this Philistine. You’re just a boy, but he’s been a warrior since he was your age.”
34David replied to Saul, “I am a shepherd for my father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth. If it attacked me, I took hold of its mane, struck it, and killed it. 36I have killed lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has challenged the army of the living God.” 37David added, “The Lord, who saved me from the lion and the bear, will save me from this Philistine.”
“Go,” Saul told David, “and may the Lord be with you.”
38Saul put his battle tunic on David; he put a bronze helmet on David’s head and dressed him in armor. 39David fastened Saul’s sword over his clothes and tried to walk, but he had never practiced doing this. “I can’t walk in these things,” David told Saul. “I’ve never had any practice doing this.” So David took all those things off.
40He took his stick with him, picked out five smooth stones from the riverbed, and put them in his shepherd’s bag. With a sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine. 41The Philistine, preceded by the man carrying his shield, was coming closer and closer to David. 42When the Philistine got a good look at David, he despised him. After all, David was a young man with a healthy complexion and good looks.
43The Philistine asked David, “Am I a dog that you come to ⌞attack⌟ me with sticks?” So the Philistine called on his gods to curse David. 44“Come on,” the Philistine told David, “and I’ll give your body to the birds.”
45David told the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the army of Israel, whom you have insulted. 46Today the Lord will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head. And this day I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals. The whole world will know that Israel has a God. 47Then everyone gathered here will know that the Lord can save without sword or spear, because the Lord determines every battle’s outcome. He will hand all of you over to us.”
48When the Philistine moved closer in order to attack, David quickly ran toward the opposing battle line to attack the Philistine. 49Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and struck the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank into Goliath’s forehead, and he fell to the ground on his face. 50So using ⌞only⌟ a sling and a stone, David proved to be stronger than the Philistine. David struck down and killed the Philistine, even though David didn’t have a sword in his hand. 51David ran and stood over the Philistine. He took Goliath’s sword, pulled it out of its sheath, and made certain the Philistine was dead by cutting off his head.
When the Philistines saw their hero had been killed, they fled. 52Then the soldiers of Israel and Judah rose up, shouted a battle cry, and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Wounded Philistines lay on the road to Shaaraim and all the way to Gath and Ekron. 53When the Israelites came back from their pursuit of the Philistines, they looted all the goods in the Philistine camp. 54David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath’s armor in his tent.
55As Saul watched David going out against the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
Abner answered, “I solemnly swear, as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
56The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
57When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner brought him to Saul. David had the Philistine’s head in his hand.
58Saul asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David answered.
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