1 Samuel 17:34–58

³⁴And David said to Saul, Thy servant fed his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and also a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. ³⁵And I went after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I seized him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. ³⁶Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷And David said, Jehovah 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 Jehovah be with thee. ³⁸And Saul clothed David with his dress, and put a helmet of bronze upon his head, and clothed him with a corselet. ³⁹And David girded his sword upon his dress, and endeavoured to go; for he had not yet tried it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go in these; for I have never tried them. And David put them off him.

⁴⁰And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag that he had, into the pocket; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. ⁴¹And the Philistine came on and approached David; and the man that bore the shield was before him. ⁴²And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was a youth, and ruddy, and besides of a beautiful countenance. ⁴³And the Philistine said to 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 to the fowls of the heavens and to the beasts of the field. ⁴⁵And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with javelin; but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. ⁴⁶This day will Jehovah deliver thee up into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens and to the wild beasts of the earth. And all the earth shall know that Israel has a God; ⁴⁷and all this congregation shall know that Jehovah saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is Jehovah’s, and he will give you into our hands.

⁴⁸And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and advanced to meet David, that David hasted, and ran towards the ranks to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹And David put his hand into the bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead; and he fell on his face to the earth. ⁵⁰So David overcame the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and smote the Philistine and killed him; and there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹And David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him completely, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled. ⁵²And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to the ravine and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down on the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron. ⁵³And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they pillaged their camps. ⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. ⁵⁵And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. ⁵⁶And the king said, Inquire thou whose son this youth 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 said, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.