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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1 Samuel 17: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
1 Samuel 17
17
David and Goliath
1The Philistines gathered their armies for war. They met at Socoh in Judah. Their camp was at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. 2Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah. And they camped there. They took their positions to fight the Philistines. 3The Philistines controlled one hill. The Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them.
4The Philistines had a champion fighter named Goliath. He was from Gath. He was about nine feet four inches tall. He came out of the Philistine camp. 5He had a bronze helmet on his head. And he wore a coat of scale armor. It was made of bronze and weighed about 125 pounds. 6He wore bronze protectors on his legs. And he had a small spear of bronze tied on his back. 7The wooden part of his larger spear was like a weaver’s rod. And its blade weighed about 15 pounds. The officer who carried his shield walked in front of him.
8Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. 9If he can fight and kill me, we will become your servants. But if I defeat and kill him, you will become our servants.” 10Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” 11When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very afraid.
12Now David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite. Jesse was from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. 13His three oldest sons followed Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab. The second son was Abinadab. And the third son was Shammah. 14David was the youngest son. Jesse’s three oldest sons followed Saul. 15But David went back and forth from Saul to Bethlehem. There he took care of his father’s sheep.
16The Philistine Goliath came out every morning and evening. He stood before the Israelite army. This continued for 40 days.
17Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this half bushel of cooked grain. And take ten loaves of bread. Take them to your brothers in the camp. 18Also take ten pieces of cheese. Give them to the commander of your brothers’ group of 1,000 soldiers. See how your brothers are. Bring back something to show me they are all right. 19Your brothers are with Saul and the army in the Valley of Elah. They are fighting against the Philistines.”
20Early in the morning David left the sheep with another shepherd. He took the food and left as Jesse had told him. When David arrived at the camp, the army was leaving. They were going out to their battle positions. The soldiers were shouting their war cry. 21The Israelites and Philistines were lining up their men to face each other in battle.
22David left the food with the man who kept the supplies. Then he ran to the battle line and talked to his brothers. 23While he was talking with them, Goliath came out. He was the Philistine champion from Gath. He shouted things against Israel as usual, and David heard it. 24When the Israelites saw Goliath, they were very much afraid and ran away.
25They said, “Look at this man Goliath. He keeps coming out to speak against Israel. The king will give much money to the man who kills Goliath. He will also give his daughter in marriage to whoever kills him. And his father’s family will not have to pay taxes in Israel.”
26David asked the men who stood near him, “What will be done to reward the man who kills this Philistine? What will be done for whoever takes away the shame from Israel? Goliath is a Philistine. He is not circumcised. Why does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?”
27The Israelites told David what they had been saying. They said, “This is what will be done for the man who kills Goliath.”
28David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers. He became angry with David. He asked David, “Why did you come here? Who’s taking care of those few sheep of yours in the desert? I know you are proud. Your attitude is very bad. You came down here just to watch the battle!”
29David asked, “Now what have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?” 30He then turned to other people and asked the same questions. And they gave him the same answer as before. 31Some men heard what David said and told Saul. Then Saul ordered David to be sent to him.
32David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. I, your servant, will go and fight this Philistine!”
33Saul answered, “You can’t go out against this Philistine and fight him. You’re only a boy. Goliath has been a warrior since he was a young man.”
34But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, have been keeping my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a sheep from the flock, 35I would chase it. I would attack it and save the sheep from its mouth. When it attacked me, I caught it by its fur. I would hit it and kill it. 36I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! Goliath, the Philistine who is not circumcised, will be like the lion or bear I killed. He will die because he has stood against the armies of the living God. 37The Lord saved me from a lion and a bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and armor on his body. 39David put on Saul’s sword and tried to walk around. But he was not used to all the armor Saul had put on him.
He said to Saul, “I can’t go in this. I’m not used to it.” Then David took it all off. 40He took his stick in his hand. And he chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his pouch and held his sling in his hand. Then he went to meet Goliath.
41At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. 42Goliath looked at David. He saw that David was only a boy, tanned and handsome. He looked down at David with disgust. 43He said, “Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?” He used his gods’ names to curse David. 44He said to David, “Come here. I’ll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!”
45But David said to him, “You come to me using a sword, a large spear and a small spear. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven’s armies. He’s the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken out against him. 46Today the Lord will give you to me. I’ll kill you, and I’ll cut off your head. Today I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel! 47Everyone gathered here will know the Lord does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him! And he will help us defeat all of you.”
48As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. 49He took a stone from his pouch. He put it into his sling and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine on his forehead and sank into it. Goliath fell facedown on the ground.
50So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone! He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand. 51David ran and stood beside the Philistine. He took Goliath’s sword out of its holder and killed him. Then he cut off Goliath’s head.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52The men of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. They chased them all the way to the entrance to the city of Gath. And they chased them to the gates of Ekron.
Many of the Philistines died. Their bodies lay on the Shaaraim road as far as Gath and Ekron. 53The Israelites returned after chasing the Philistines. Then they took many things from the Philistine camp. 54David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem. He also put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55Saul had watched David go out to meet Goliath. Saul spoke to Abner, commander of the army. He said, “Abner, who is that young man’s father?”
Abner answered, “As surely as you live, my king, I don’t know.”
56The king said, “Find out whose son he is.”
57When David came back from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul. David still held Goliath’s head.
58Saul asked him, “Young man, who is your father?”
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
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