1 Samuel 17:34–58

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep. And a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock,

³⁵and I would go out after it and strike it and ^arescue the lamb from its mouth. Then it rose up against me, and I would seize it by its beard and strike it down and put it to death.

³⁶“Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has ¹reproached the battle lines of the living God.”

³⁷And David said, “^aYahweh, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “^bGo, and may Yahweh be with you.”

³⁸Then Saul clothed David with his robes and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor.

³⁹And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them ¹off.

⁴⁰Then he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and ^ahis sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹Then the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him.

⁴²And the Philistine looked and saw David. And ^ahe despised him; for he was but a youth and ^bruddy, with a handsome appearance.

⁴³And the Philistine said to David, “^aAm I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And ^bthe Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^ato the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”

⁴⁵Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, ^abut I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have ¹reproached.

⁴⁶“This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the ^adead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, ^bthat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that ^aYahweh does not save by sword or by spear; ^bfor the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

⁴⁸Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that ^aDavid ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹And David sent his hand down into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and put him to death; but there was no sword in David’s hand.

⁵¹Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and ^atook his sword and drew it out of its sheath and put him to death and cut off his head with it. ^bThen the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, so they fled.

⁵²But the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines ¹as far as the valley and to the gates of ^aEkron. And the slain Philistines lay fallen along the way to ^bShaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.

⁵³Then the sons of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines and plundered their camps.

⁵⁴And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

⁵⁵Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is ^athis young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.”

⁵⁶And the king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.”

⁵⁷So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and ^abrought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand.

⁵⁸And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “^aI am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”