1 Samuel 17:34–58

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a ^zlion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, ³⁵I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. ³⁶Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷Moreover David said, ^a“The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, ^b“Go, and the Lord be with you!”

³⁸So Saul clothed David with his ³armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.

⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. ⁴¹So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. ⁴²And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he ^cdisdained ⁴him; for he was only a youth, ^druddy and good-looking. ⁴³So the Philistine ^esaid to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴And the Philistine ^fsaid to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

⁴⁵Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. ^gBut I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have ^hdefied. ⁴⁶This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give ⁱthe carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, ^jthat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord ^kdoes not save with sword and spear; for ^lthe battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

⁴⁸So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ^mran toward the army to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. ⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a ⁿsling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his ^osword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, ^pthey fled. ⁵²Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of ⁵the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to ^qShaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. ⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to ^rAbner, the commander of the army, “Abner, ^swhose son is this youth?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

⁵⁶So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”

⁵⁷Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul ^twith the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

So David answered, ^u“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”