1 Samuel 17:12–31

¹²Now David was ^gthe son of that ^hEphrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had ⁱeight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. ¹³The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The ^jnames of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. ¹⁵But David occasionally went and returned from Saul ^kto feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

¹⁶And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

¹⁷Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. ¹⁸And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and ^lsee how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” ¹⁹Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. ²¹For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. ²²And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. ²³Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke ^maccording to the same words. So David heard them. ²⁴And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. ²⁵So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, ⁿwill give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”

²⁶Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away ^othe reproach from Israel? For who is this ^puncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^qdefy the armies of ^rthe living God?”

²⁷And the people answered him in this manner, saying, ^s“So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s ^tanger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

²⁹And David said, “What have I done now? ^uIs ²there not a cause?” ³⁰Then he turned from him toward another and ^vsaid the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

³¹Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.