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The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion 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 you.”
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Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.
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David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.
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Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.
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He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him.
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He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
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David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
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As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
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So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
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David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
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David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.
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As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
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As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.
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“Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
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Saul’s Growing Fear of David
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
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From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family.
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And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
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Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
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Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
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When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres.
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As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
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Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?”
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And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
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The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand
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and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
