1S 17:1And the Philistines assembled their armies for battle, and they assembled in Socoh, which belongs to Judah. And they encamped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
1S 17:2And Saul and the men of Israel were assembled, and they encamped in the valley of Elah. And they set the battle in array against the Philistines.
1S 17:3And the Philistines stood on one mountain on one side, and Israel stood on another mountain on the other side; and the valley was between them.
1S 17:4And a champion came forth from the camps of the Philistines. His name was Goliath, from Gath, and he was six cubits and a span tall.
1S 17:5And there was a bronze helmet upon his head; and he was clothed with scaled armor, and the weight of the armor was five thousand bronze shekels.
1S 17:6And he had bronze greaves upon his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders.
1S 17:7And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred iron shekels; and his shield bearer went before him.
1S 17:8And he stood and called out to the ranks of Israel and said to them, Why do you come out to set the battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and you, Saul’s servants? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
1S 17:9If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will be our servants and serve us.
1S 17:10And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, and let us fight together.
1S 17:11Now when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
1S 17:12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite from Bethlehem-judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. And the man was an old man in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.
1S 17:13And the three oldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who had gone into the battle were Eliab the firstborn and the second to him Abinadab and the third Shammah;
1S 17:14And David was the youngest. And the three oldest went after Saul,
1S 17:15But David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
1S 17:16And the Philistine approached morning and evening, and he presented himself forty days.
1S 17:17And Jesse said to David his son, Take an ephah of this parched grain for your brothers and these ten loaves, and take them quickly to your brothers’ camp.
1S 17:18Also bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand; and see how your brothers are doing, and take some token from them.
1S 17:19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
1S 17:20And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper. And he took up the goods and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the entrenchment as the army was going forth to the battle line and shouting for the battle.
1S 17:21And Israel and the Philistines set the battle in array, array against array.
1S 17:22And David left the things he had in the hand of the keeper of the equipment, and he ran to the array and went and greeted his brothers.
1S 17:23And just as he was speaking with them, the champion, whose name was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he spoke according to the same words; and David heard.
1S 17:24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from before him; and they were very afraid.
1S 17:25And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he comes up to defy Israel. But as for the man who strikes him down, the king will make him rich with great riches; and he will give him his daughter and make the house of his father free in Israel.
1S 17:26Then David spoke to the men who were standing with him, saying, What shall be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and turns away reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the ranks of the living God?
1S 17:27And the people spoke to him according to these words, saying, Thus shall it be done to the man who strikes him down.
1S 17:28And Eliab his oldest brother heard him speaking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart, that you came down to see the battle.
1S 17:29And David said, What have I done now? Is there no cause?
1S 17:30And he turned around from him to another and spoke according to the same words, and the people responded to him according to the first words.
1S 17:31And when the words that David spoke were heard, they were reported to Saul; and he had him brought.
1S 17:32And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
1S 17:33But Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth and he has been a man of war since his youth.
1S 17:34And David said to Saul, Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,
1S 17:35I would go out after it and strike it and deliver the lamb from its mouth. And when it rose up against me, I would seize it by its beard and strike it and kill it.
1S 17:36Both the lion and the bear did your servant strike; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the ranks of the living God.
1S 17:37And David said, Jehovah, 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, Go, and may Jehovah be with you.
1S 17:38And Saul put his own garment on David, and he placed a bronze helmet on his head and put his armor on him.
1S 17:39And David girded his sword over his garment and tried to go, for he had not tried the armor. Then David said to Saul, I cannot go in these because I have not tried them. And David took them off.
1S 17:40Then he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them into the shepherd’s bag that he had, that is, in his pouch; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
1S 17:41And the Philistine came on and approached David, and the man who bore the shield was before him.
1S 17:42And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he scorned him; for he was but a youth and ruddy and handsome in appearance.
1S 17:43And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1S 17:44And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the field.
1S 17:45Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied.
1S 17:46On this day Jehovah will deliver you up into my hand, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. And I will give the corpses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth on this day. And all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel;
1S 17:47And all this congregation will know that it is not by sword or spear that Jehovah saves, for the battle is Jehovah’s and He will deliver you into our hand.
1S 17:48And when the Philistine rose up and came and drew near to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
1S 17:49And David put forth his hand into his bag and took a stone from there. And he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
1S 17:50Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.
1S 17:51Then David ran and stood beside the Philistine, and he took the Philistine’s sword and drew it out of its sheath and made certain he was dead by striking off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, they fled.
1S 17:52And the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted and pursued the Philistines until you come to Gai and to the gates of Ekron. And the Philistines lay slain along the way to Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
1S 17:53And the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camps.
1S 17:54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
1S 17:55Now when Saul saw David going forth to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the captain of the army, Whose son is this youth, Abner? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.
1S 17:56And the king said, Inquire whose son this young man is.
1S 17:57So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul; and the Philistine’s head was in his hand.
1S 17:58And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David said, The son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
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