1 Samuel 17
17
The Challenge of Goliath. 1The Philistines rallied their forces for battle at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. 2Saul and the Israelites rallied and camped in the valley of the Elah, drawing up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3The Philistines were stationed on one hill and the Israelites on an opposite hill, with a valley between them.
4A champion named Goliath of Gath came out from the Philistine camp; he was six cubits and a span#Six cubits and a span: about nine feet nine inches (a cubit equals about eighteen inches; a span equals about eight inches). The Greek text and 4QSama read: “four cubits and a span” (six feet nine inches). The description of the Philistine’s might and his powerful weapons contrasts with the picture of the youthful David who trusts in God. tall. 5He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a bronze breastplate of scale armor weighing five thousand shekels, 6bronze greaves, and had a bronze scimitar slung from his shoulders. 7The shaft of his javelin was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron head weighed six hundred shekels.#Six hundred shekels: over fifteen pounds. His shield-bearer went ahead of him.#2 Sm 21:19; 1 Chr 11:23; 20:5. 8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel: “Why come out in battle formation? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants. Choose one of your men, and have him come down to me. 9If he beats me in combat and kills me, we will be your vassals; but if I beat him and kill him, you shall be our vassals and serve us.” 10The Philistine continued: “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Give me a man and let us fight together.” 11When Saul and all Israel heard this challenge of the Philistine, they were stunned and terrified.
David Comes to the Camp.#Here the final editor begins an alternative account of David’s encounter with the Philistine hero, which continues in vv. 50–51 and concludes in 17:55–18:5. 12David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah who had eight sons. In the days of Saul Jesse was old and well on in years.#1 Sm 16:1, 10; Ru 1:2. 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to war; the names of these three sons who had gone off to war were Eliab the firstborn; Abinadab the second; and Shammah the third. 14David was the youngest. While the three oldest had joined Saul, 15David would come and go from Saul’s presence to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.#1 Sm 16:11; 18:2; 2 Sm 7:8; Ps 78:70–71.
16Meanwhile the Philistine came forward and took his stand morning and evening for forty days.
17Now Jesse said to his son David: “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves for your brothers, and bring them quickly to your brothers in the camp. 18Also take these ten cheeses for the field officer. Greet your brothers and bring home some token from them. 19Saul and your brothers, together with all Israel, are at war with the Philistines in the valley of the Elah.” 20Early the next morning, having left the flock with a shepherd, David packed up and set out, as Jesse had commanded him. He reached the barricade of the camp just as the army, on their way to the battleground, were shouting their battle cry.#1 Sm 26:5. 21The Israelites and the Philistines drew up opposite each other in battle array. 22David entrusted what he had brought to the keeper of the baggage and hastened to the battle line, where he greeted his brothers.#1 Sm 25:13. 23While he was talking with them, the Philistine champion, by name Goliath of Gath, came up from the ranks of the Philistines and spoke as before, and David listened. 24When the Israelites saw the man, they all retreated before him, terrified. 25The Israelites had been saying: “Do you see this man coming up? He comes up to insult Israel. The king will make whoever kills him a very wealthy man. He will give his daughter to him and declare his father’s family exempt from taxes in Israel.”#1 Sm 18:17; Jos 15:16. 26David now said to the men standing near him: “How will the man who kills this Philistine and frees Israel from disgrace be rewarded? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should insult the armies of the living God?”#1 Sm 18:25; Dt 5:26; Jgs 15:18; 2 Kgs 19:4; Is 37:4; Jer 10:10. 27They repeated the same words to him and said, “That is how the man who kills him will be rewarded.” 28When Eliab, his oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he grew angry with David and said: “Why did you come down? With whom have you left those sheep in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and dishonest heart. You came down to enjoy the battle!”#1 Sm 16:6. 29David protested, “What have I done now? I was only talking.” 30He turned from him to another and asked the same question; and everyone gave him the same answer as before. 31The words that David had spoken were overheard and reported to Saul, who sent for him.
David Challenges Goliath. 32Then David spoke to Saul: “My lord should not lose heart. Let your servant go and fight this Philistine.” 33But Saul answered David, “You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him, for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34#Jgs 14:6; Sir 47:3. Then David told Saul: “Your servant used to tend his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or bear came to carry off a sheep from the flock, 35I would chase after it, attack it, and snatch the prey from its mouth. If it attacked me, I would seize it by the throat, strike it, and kill it. 36Your servant has killed both a lion and a bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them, because he has insulted the armies of the living God.”
37David continued: “The same Lord who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul answered David, “Go! the Lord will be with you.”#Prv 28:1.
Preparation for the Encounter. 38Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic, putting a bronze helmet on his head and arming him with a coat of mail. 39David also fastened Saul’s sword over the tunic. He walked with difficulty, however, since he had never worn armor before. He said to Saul, “I cannot go in these, because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. With his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.
David’s Victory. 41#The two combatants trade theological taunts. God uses the most unlikely opponent to destroy Goliath. With his shield-bearer marching before him, the Philistine advanced closer and closer to David. 42When he sized David up and saw that he was youthful, ruddy, and handsome in appearance, he began to deride him. 43He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods 44and said to him, “Come here to me, and I will feed your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”#Dt 28:26; Ps 79:2–3; Is 18:6; Jer 7:33; 15:3. 45David answered him: “You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have insulted. 46Today the Lord shall deliver you into my hand; I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will feed your dead body and the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field; thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God. 47All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. For the battle belongs to the Lord, who shall deliver you into our hands.”#1 Sm 14:6, 10; Ps 33:16.
48The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters, while David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone, hurled it with the sling, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone embedded itself in his brow, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with sling and stone; he struck the Philistine dead, and did it without a sword in his hand.#1 Mc 4:30; Sir 47:4. 51Then David ran and stood over him; with the Philistine’s own sword which he drew from its sheath he killed him, and cut off his head.#1 Sm 21:10.
Flight of the Philistines. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled. 52Then the men of Israel and Judah sprang up with a battle cry and pursued them to the approaches of Gath and to the gates of Ekron, and Philistines fell wounded along the road from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53When they returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, the Israelites looted their camp. 54#1 Sm 31:9. David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he kept Goliath’s armor in his own tent.#Jerusalem was a Jebusite city; it came under Israelite control only at the beginning of David’s rule. As a young shepherd, David would not have had a military tent. In 21:10, Goliath’s sword is in the Nob temple.
David Presented to Saul. 55As Saul watched David go out to meet the Philistine, he asked his general Abner, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “On your life, O king, I have no idea.”#1 Sm 14:50. 56And the king said, “Find out whose son the lad is.” 57So when David returned from slaying the Philistine, Abner escorted him into Saul’s presence. David was still holding the Philistine’s head. 58Saul then asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
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1 Samuel 17: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
1 Samuel 17
17
1 NOW THE Philistines gathered their armies for battle and were assembled at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
2 Saul and the men of Israel were encamped in the Valley of Elah and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.
3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on one side and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.
4 And a champion went out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span [almost ten feet].
5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of mail, and the coat weighed 5,000 shekels of bronze.
6 He had bronze shin armor on his legs and a bronze javelin across his shoulders.
7 And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam; his spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron. And a shield bearer went before him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day; 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.
12 David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, who had eight sons. [Jesse] in the days of Saul was old, advanced in years.
13 [His] three eldest sons had followed Saul into battle. Their names were Eliab the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah.
14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,
15 But David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
16 The Philistine came out morning and evening, presenting himself for forty days.
17 And Jesse said to David his son, Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves and carry them quickly to your brothers at the camp.
18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare and bring some token from them.
19 Now Saul and the brothers and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose up early next morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host going forth to the battleground shouted the battle cry.
21 And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
22 David left his packages in the care of the baggage keeper and ran into the ranks and came and greeted his brothers.
23 As they talked, behold, Goliath, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, came forth from the Philistine ranks and spoke the same words as before, and David heard him.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, terrified.
25 And the Israelites said, Have you seen this man who has come out? Surely he has come out to defy Israel; and the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free [from taxes and service] in Israel.
26 And David said to the men standing by him, What shall be done for 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 And the [men] told him, Thus shall it be done for the man who kills him.
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard what he said to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David and he said, Why did you come here? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and evilness of heart; for you came down that you might see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I done now? Was it not a harmless question?
30 And David turned away from Eliab to another and he asked the same question, and again the men gave him the same answer.
31 When David's words were heard, they were repeated to Saul, and he sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of this Philistine; your servant will go out and fight with him.
33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go to fight against this Philistine. You are only an adolescent, and he has been a warrior from his youth.
34 And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep. And when there came a lion or again a bear and took a lamb out of the flock,
35 I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it.
36 Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
37 David said, The Lord Who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!
38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword over his armor. Then he tried to go, but could not, for he was not used to it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I am not used to them. And David took them off.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in his shepherd's [lunch] bag [a whole kid's skin slung from his shoulder], in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near the Philistine.
41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, the man who bore the shield going before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked around and saw David, he scorned and despised him, for he was but an adolescent, with a healthy reddish color and a fair face.
43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you should come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied.
46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands.
48 When the Philistine came forward to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
49 David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine, sinking into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck down the Philistine and slew him. But no sword was in David's hand.
51 So he ran and stood over the Philistine, took 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.
52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. So the wounded Philistines fell along the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
53 The Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines and plundered 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 out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I cannot tell.
56 And the king said, Inquire whose son the stripling is.
57 When David returned from killing Goliath the Philistine, Abner brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation