1 Samuel 17

David versus Goliath

17The Philistines ^ogathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh ^pand Azekah ^qin Ephes-dammim. ^r2Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; ^sthen 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, ^tcame out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall ^uv5and wore a bronze helmet ^wand bronze scale armor that weighed 125 pounds. ^x6There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze sword ^ywas slung between his shoulders. ⁷His spear shaft ^zwas like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 15 pounds. ^aIn addition, a shield-bearer ^bwas 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? ^cChoose 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.” ^d10Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. ^eSend 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 ^ffrom Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons ^gand during Saul’s reign was already an old man. ¹³Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names ^hwere Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third, ¹⁴and David was the youngest. ⁱThe three oldest had followed Saul, ¹⁵but David kept going back and forth from Saul ^jto tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem.

¹⁶Every morning and evening for 40 days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. ¹⁷One day Jesse had told his son David: “Take this half-bushel ^kof roasted grain along with these 10 loaves of bread ^lfor your brothers and hurry to their camp. ¹⁸Also take these 10 portions of cheese to the field commander. ^mCheck on the welfare of your brothers ⁿand 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 instructed him.

He arrived at the perimeter of the camp ^oas 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 ^pand 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, ^qwhich 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. ^rThe king will also make the household of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.” ^s

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? ^tJust who is this uncircumcised Philistine ^uthat he should defy the armies ^vof the living God?” ^w

²⁷The people told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.” ^x

²⁸David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and became angry with him. ^y“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. ^z

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 ^ahim; ^byour servant will go ^cand 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. ^dIf it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, ^estrike 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.” ^f

Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ^g

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 ^hand 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 ⁱbecause he was just a youth, healthy ^jkand handsome. ⁴³He said to David, “Am I a dog ^lthat you come against me with sticks?” ^mThen he cursed David by his gods. ⁿ⁴⁴“Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” ^o

⁴⁵David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him. ^p46Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses ^qof the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, ^r47and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, ^sfor the battle is the Lord’s. ^tHe 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. ^u49David 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 on his face to the ground. ⁵⁰David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him. ⁵¹David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, ^vpulled 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 ran. ^w52The 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. ^xyPhilistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road ^zto Gath and Ekron.

⁵³When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. ⁵⁴David took Goliath’s ^ahead and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

^55bWhen Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” ^c

“My king, 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. ^d58Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” ^eDavid answered.