1 Samuel 17:34–58

³⁴And David saith unto Saul, ‘A shepherd hath thy servant been to his father among the sheep, and the lion hath come—and the bear—and hath taken away a sheep out of the drove, ³⁵and I have gone out after him, and smitten him, and delivered out of his mouth, and he riseth against me, and I have taken hold on his beard, and smitten him, and put him to death. ³⁶Both the lion and the bear hath thy servant smitten, and this uncircumcised Philistine hath been as one of them, for he hath reproached the ranks of the living God.’ ³⁷And David saith, ‘Jehovah, who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He doth deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul saith unto David, ‘Go, and Jehovah is with thee.’ ³⁸And Saul clotheth David with his long robe, and hath put a helmet of brass on his head, and doth clothe him with a coat of mail. ³⁹And David girded his sword above his long robe, and beginneth to go, for he hath not tried it; and David saith unto Saul, ‘I am not able to go with these, for I had not tried;’ and David turneth them aside from off him.

⁴⁰And he taketh his staff in his hand, and chooseth for him five smooth stones from the brook, and putteth them in the shepherds’ habiliments that he hath, even in the scrip, and his sling is in his hand, and he draweth nigh unto the Philistine. ⁴¹And the Philistine goeth on, going and drawing near unto David, and the man bearing the buckler is before him, ⁴²and the Philistine looketh attentively, and seeth David, and despiseth him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance. ⁴³And the Philistine saith unto David, ‘Am I a dog that thou art coming unto me with staves?’ and the Philistine revileth David by his gods, ⁴⁴and the Philistine saith unto David, ‘Come unto me, and I give thy flesh to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.’ ⁴⁵And David saith unto the Philistine, ‘Thou art coming unto me with sword, and with spear, and with buckler, and I am coming unto thee in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, God of the ranks of Israel, which thou hast reproached. ⁴⁶This day doth Jehovah shut thee up into my hand—and I have smitten thee, and turned aside thy head from off thee, and given the carcase of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and all the earth do know that God is for Israel. ⁴⁷and all this assembly do know that not by sword and by spear doth Jehovah save, that the battle is Jehovah’s, and He hath given you into our hand.’

⁴⁸And it hath come to pass, that the Philistine hath risen, and goeth, and draweth near to meet David, and David hasteth and runneth to the rank to meet the Philistine, ⁴⁹and David putteth forth his hand unto the vessel, and taketh thence a stone, and slingeth, and smiteth the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sinketh into his forehead, and he falleth on his face to the earth. ⁵⁰And David is stronger than the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smiteth the Philistine, and putteth him to death, and there is no sword in the hand of David, ⁵¹and David runneth and standeth over the Philistine, and taketh his sword, and draweth it out of its sheath, and putteth him to death, and cutteth off with it his head; and the Philistines see that their hero is dead, and flee. ⁵²And the men of Israel rise—also Judah—and shout, and pursue the Philistines till thou enter the valley, and unto the gates of Ekron, and the wounded of the Philistines fall in the way of Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron, ⁵³and the sons of Israel turn back from burning after the Philistines, and spoil their camps. ⁵⁴And David taketh the head of the Philistine, and bringeth it in to Jerusalem, and his weapons he hath put in his own tent. ⁵⁵And when Saul seeth David going out to meet the Philistine, he hath said unto Abner, head of the host, ‘Whose son is this—the youth, Abner?’ and Abner saith, ‘Thy soul liveth, O king, I have not known.’ ⁵⁶And the king saith, ‘Ask thou whose son this is—the young man.’ ⁵⁷And when David turneth back from smiting the Philistine, then Abner taketh him and bringeth him in before Saul, and the head of the Philistine in his hand; ⁵⁸and Saul saith unto him, ‘Whose son art thou, O youth?’ and David saith, ‘Son of thy servant Jesse, the Beth-Lehemite.’

Chapter 18