¹² Now David was the son of an Ephrathite^(A) named Jesse,^(B) who was from Bethlehem^(C) in Judah. Jesse had eight^(D) sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. ¹³ Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab;^(E) the second, Abinadab;^(F) and the third, Shammah.^{(G) 14} David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul to tend^(H) his father’s sheep^(I) at Bethlehem.

¹⁶ For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.

¹⁷ Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah^[a](J) of roasted grain^(K) and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. ¹⁸ Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers^(L) are and bring back some assurance^[b] from them. ¹⁹ They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart^(A) on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

³³ Saul replied,^(B) “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion^(C) or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized^(D) it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion^(E) and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued^(F) me from the paw of the lion^(G) and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with^(H) you.”