1 Samuel 17:34–58

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 and hit it and killed it. ³⁶I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! This uncircumcised Philistine will be like them, because he has spoken against the armies of the living God. ³⁷The Lord who saved me from a lion and a bear will 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 his head and dressed him in armor. 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, because I’m not used to it.” Then David took it all off. ⁴⁰He took his stick in his hand and chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his shepherd’s bag and grabbed his sling. Then he went to meet the Philistine.

⁴¹At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. ⁴²When Goliath looked at David and saw that he was only a boy, tanned and handsome, he looked down on 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 and two spears. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken against him. ⁴⁶Today the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll kill you and 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 hand you over to us.”

⁴⁸As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. ⁴⁹He took a stone from his bag, put it into his sling, and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine and went deep into his forehead, and 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. ⁵¹Then David ran and stood beside him. He took Goliath’s sword out of its holder and killed him by cutting off his head.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. ⁵²The men of Israel and Judah shouted and chased the Philistines all the way to the entrance of the city of Gath and to the gates of Ekron.

The Philistines’ bodies lay on the Shaaraim road as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³The Israelites returned after chasing the Philistines and robbed their camp. ⁵⁴David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem and put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

⁵⁵When Saul saw David go out to meet Goliath, Saul asked Abner, commander of the army, “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 was still holding Goliath’s head.

⁵⁸Saul asked him, “Young man, who is your father?”

David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”