1 Samuel 17
17
David and Goliath
1Now the Philistines #ch. 13:5 gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at #Josh. 15:35 Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and #Josh. 10:10; Neh. 11:30 Azekah, in #[1 Chr. 11:13]Ephes-dammim. 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in #ver. 19; ch. 21:9the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named #[2 Sam. 21:19; 1 Chr. 20:4] Goliath of #ch. 21:10; Josh. 11:22; 13:3Gath, whose height was six#17:4 Hebrew; Septuagint, Dead Sea Scroll and Josephus four cubits#17:4 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters and a span. 5He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels#17:5 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of bronze. 6And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a #ver. 45javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. #ver. 41And his shield-bearer went before him. 8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and #ch. 8:17are you not servants of 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 we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants #[ch. 11:1]and serve us.” 10And the Philistine said, #ver. 25, 26, 36, 45; [2 Sam. 21:21]“I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, 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 #ver. 58; ch. 16:1, 18; Ruth 4:22 the son of an #Gen. 35:19 Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, #ver. 58; ch. 16:1, 18 named Jesse, #ch. 16:10, 11; [1 Chr. 2:13-15]who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.#17:12 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew advanced among men 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And #ch. 16:6, 8, 9; [1 Chr. 2:13]the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14#ch. 16:11David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15but David went back and forth from Saul #ch. 16:19to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
17And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah#17:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18#[ch. 16:20] Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. #[Gen. 37:14]See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”
19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to #ch. 26:5, 7the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22And David left the #[Isa. 10:28; Acts 21:15]things in charge of the keeper of the #[Isa. 10:28; Acts 21:15]baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23As he talked with them, behold, #ver. 4 the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke #ver. 8the same words as before. And David heard him.
24All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to #ver. 10, 36, 45 defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches #[Josh. 15:16]and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away #ch. 11:2 the reproach from Israel? For who is this #See Judg. 14:3 uncircumcised Philistine, that he should #[See ver. 25 above] defy the armies of #Deut. 5:26; Josh. 3:10the living God?” 27And the people answered him in the same way, #ver. 25“So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
28Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke #ver. 26, 27in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
31When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32And David said to Saul, #[Deut. 20:3] “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. #[ch. 16:18]Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33And 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 has been a man of war from his youth.” 34But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, #ver. 10, 26for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37And David said, #[2 Tim. 4:17] “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, #[ch. 20:13; 1 Chr. 22:11, 16]and the Lord be with you!”
38Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
41And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, #ver. 7with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, #ch. 16:12ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43And the Philistine said to David, “Am I #ch. 24:14; 2 Sam. 3:8; 9:8; 16:9; 2 Kgs. 8:13a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh #ver. 46to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with #ver. 6 a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, #[See ver. 36 above]whom you have defied. 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. #Deut. 28:26 And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day #ver. 44 to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, #1 Kgs. 18:36; [Josh. 4:24]that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that #Hos. 1:7; [Ps. 44:6, 7; Zech. 4:6] the Lord saves not with sword and spear. #2 Chr. 20:15For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
48When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51Then David ran and stood over the Philistine #ch. 21:9; [2 Sam. 23:21] and 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 champion was dead, #[Heb. 11:34]they fled. 52And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath#17:52 Septuagint; Hebrew Gai and the gates of #Josh. 15:11 Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from #Josh. 15:36 Shaaraim as far as #See ver. 4Gath and Ekron. 53And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54And David took #ver. 57 the head of the Philistine #[2 Sam. 5:6, 7]and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, #2 Sam. 2:8 the commander of the army, “Abner, #[ch. 16:21, 22] whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, #See ch. 1:26“As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul #ver. 54with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, #ver. 12“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 17
17
1 Samuel 17
1¶ Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongs to Judah, and pitched camp between Shochoh and Azekah in Ephesdammim.
2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and pitched camp by the valley of Elah and ordered the battle against the Philistines.
3And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side; and there was a valley between them.
4And a man named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span, came out of the camp of the Philistines and stood between the two camps.
5And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clothed with a coat of mail of scales; and the weight of the coat of mail was five thousand shekels of brass.
6And he had greaves of brass upon his legs and a shield of brass between his shoulders.
7And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him.
8And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and ye slaves to Saul? Choose a man from among you, and let him come down to me.
9If he is able to fight with me and to overcome me, then will we be your slaves, but if I prevail against him and overcome him, then ye shall be our slaves and serve us.
10And the Philistine said, I have dishonoured the ranks of Israel today; give me a man that we may fight together.
11When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12¶ And David was the son of an Ephrathite man of Bethlehem of Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons, and this man was old in the days of Saul and of advanced age among men.
13And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone and followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab, the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab and the third Shammah.
14And David was the youngest, the three eldest having gone after Saul.
15But David had gone and returned from being with Saul to feed his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
16And the Philistine drew near morning and evening and presented himself for forty days.
17And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to thy brethren
18and carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand and look how thy brethren fare and take their pledge.
19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.
20And David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took and went with his burden as Jesse had commanded him, and he came to the trench as the host was going forth in battle array, and they had already sounded the alarm for the battle.
21For Israel and the Philistines had ordered the battle, army against army.
22And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage and ran into the army and came and asked about his brethren, if they were well.
23And as he talked with them, behold, there came up that man, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, speaking the same words, and David heard them.
24And all the men of Israel when they saw the man fled from him and feared greatly.
25And each one of the men of Israel were saying, Have ye seen this man that is come up? He is come up to dishonour Israel. It shall be that the king will enrich the man who overcomes him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.
26Then David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that overcomes this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should dishonour the armies of the living God?
27And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that overcomes him.
28And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke unto the men, and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why didst thou come down here? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the malice of thy heart, for thou art come down that thou might see the battle.
29And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
30And he turned from him toward another and spoke after the same manner, and the people answered him again after the former manner.
31¶ And the words which David had spoken were heard, and they were rehearsed before Saul, and he sent for him.
32And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy slave will go and fight with this Philistine.
33And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a young man, and he a man of war from his youth.
34And David replied unto Saul, Thy slave was the pastor of his father’s sheep, and if a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
35I went out after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth; and if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him.
36Whether it was a lion or a bear thy slave would kill it, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has dishonoured the armies of the living God.
37David said moreover, The Lord that 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 unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
38And Saul clothed David with his clothing, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head; he also armed him with a coat of mail.
39And David girded Saul’s sword upon Saul’s clothing, and he undertook to go, for he had not proved them. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And putting them off, David
40¶ took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a provision bag, and with his sling in his hand he drew near to the Philistine.
41And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David, and the man that bore the shield went before him.
42And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth and ruddy and of a fair countenance.
43And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the heaven and to the beasts of the field.
45Then David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of the hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast dishonoured.
46This day the Lord will deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee and take thy head from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the heaven and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47And all this congregation shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.
48¶ And it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David that David hastened and ran to do battle against the Philistine.
49And David put his hand in his bag and took a stone from there and slang it and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone remained sunk into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50So David overcame the Philistine with a sling and with a stone and smote the Philistine and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and slew him and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw their giant was dead, they fled.
52And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines unto the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath and unto Ekron.
53And the sons of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul lives, O king, I cannot tell.
56And the king said, Enquire whose son the young man is.
57And 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.
58And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy slave Jesse of Bethlehem.
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