Goliath’s Challenge

17 Now ^(A)the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between ^(B)Socoh and ^(C)Azekah, in ^(D)Ephes-dammim. ² Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in ^(E)the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines. ³ The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. ⁴ Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named ^(F)Goliath, from ^(G)Gath. His height was ^[a]six cubits and a ^[b]span. ⁵ And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor ^[c]which weighed ^[d]five thousand shekels of bronze. ⁶ He also had bronze ^[e]greaves on his legs and a ^(H)bronze ^[f]saber slung between his shoulders. ^7 (I)The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed ^[g]six hundred shekels of iron; and ^(J)his shield-carrier walked in front of him. ⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the ^(K)servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me. ^9 (L)If he is able to fight me and ^[h]kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and ^[i]kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” ¹⁰ Then the Philistine said, “^(M)I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.” ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.

³² And David said to Saul, “^(A)May no one’s heart fail on account of him; ^(B)your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” ³³ But Saul said to David, “^(C)You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went out after it and ^[a]attacked it, and ^(D)rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has ^[b]killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, “^(E)The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “^(F)Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor. ³⁹ And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them.” And David took them ^[c]off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch, and ^(G)his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, ^(H)he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and ^[d](I)reddish, with a handsome appearance. ⁴³ So the Philistine said to David, “^(J)Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And ^(K)the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^(L)to the birds of the sky and the ^[e]wild animals.” ⁴⁵ But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a ^[f]saber, ^(M)but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the ^(N)dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, ^(O)so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that this entire assembly may know that ^(P)the Lord does not save by sword or by spear; ^(Q)for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will hand you over to us!”

⁴⁸ Then it happened, when the Philistine ^[g]came closer to meet David, that ^(R)David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David’s hand. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and ^(S)took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. ^(T)When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

Sennacherib Defies God

⁸ Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^(A)Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left ^(B)Lachish. ⁹ When he heard them say about Tirhakah king of ^[a]Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of ^[b]Judah: ‘Do not ^(C)let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “^(D)Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ¹¹ Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? ^12 (E)Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: ^(F)Gozan, ^(G)Haran, Rezeph, and ^(H)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? ^13 (I)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

¹⁴ Then ^(J)Hezekiah took the ^[c]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and ^[d]spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^[e](K)enthroned above the cherubim, ^(L)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ^16 (M)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; ^(N)open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^(O)to taunt the living God. ¹⁷ It is true, Lord; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, ¹⁸ and have ^[f]hurled their gods into the fire; ^(P)for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. ¹⁹ But now, Lord our God, please, save us from his hand, ^(Q)so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, ^(R)Lord, are God.”

God’s Answer through Isaiah

²⁰ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, ^(S)I have heard you.’ ²¹ This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

²⁹ ‘Then this shall be ^(AH)the sign for you: ^[i]you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows by itself, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. ^30 (AI)The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. ³¹ For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors ^(AJ)out of Mount Zion. ^(AK)The zeal of ^[j]the Lord will perform this.

³² ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “^(AL)He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield nor heap up an assault ramp against it. ^33 (AM)By the way that he came, by ^[k]the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the Lord. ³⁴ ‘^(AN)For I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and ^(AO)for My servant David’s sake.’”

^35 (AP)Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of ^[l]the 185,000 were ^[m]dead.

²² “Men of Israel, listen to these words: ^(A)Jesus the Nazarene, ^(B)a Man ^[a]attested to you by God with ^[b]miracles and ^(C)wonders and ^[c]signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— ²³ this Man, delivered over by the ^(D)predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, ^(E)you nailed to a cross by the hands of ^[d]godless men and put Him to death. ^24 [e]But ^(F)God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the ^[f]agony of death, since it ^(G)was impossible for Him to be held ^[g]in its power. ²⁵ For David says of Him,

²⁹ “^[k]Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the ^(K)patriarch David that he both ^(L)died and ^(M)was buried, and ^(N)his tomb is ^[l]with us to this day. ³⁰ So because he was ^(O)a prophet and knew that ^(P)God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one ^[m]of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the ^[n]Christ, that ^(Q)He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh ^[o]suffer decay. ³² It is this Jesus whom ^(R)God raised up, ^[p]a fact to which we are all ^(S)witnesses. ³³ Therefore, ^[q]since He has been exalted ^[r](T)at the right hand of God, and ^(U)has received ^(V)the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has ^(W)poured out this which you both see and hear. ³⁴ For it was not David who ascended into ^[s]heaven, but he himself says:

³⁶ Therefore let all the ^(Y)house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both ^(Z)Lord and ^[t]Christ—this Jesus ^(AA)whom you crucified.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were ^[u]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “^[v]Brothers, ^(AB)what are we to do?” ³⁸ Peter said to them, “^(AC)Repent, and each of you be ^(AD)baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For ^(AE)the promise is for you and your children and for all who are ^(AF)far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he solemnly ^(AG)testified and kept on urging them, saying, “^[w]Be saved from this ^(AH)perverse generation!” ⁴¹ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand ^[x](AI)souls. ⁴² They were ^(AJ)continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to ^(AK)the breaking of bread and ^(AL)to ^[y]prayer.

^43 [z]Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many ^(AM)wonders and ^[aa]signs were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all the believers ^[ab]were together and ^(AN)had all things in common; ⁴⁵ and they ^(AO)would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. ^46 (AP)Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and ^(AQ)breaking bread ^[ac]from house to house, they were taking their ^[ad]meals together with gladness and ^[ae]sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and ^(AR)having favor with all the people. And the Lord ^(AS)was adding to ^[af]their number day by day ^(AT)those who were being saved.

²² “Men of Israel, listen to these words: ^(A)Jesus the Nazarene, ^(B)a Man ^[a]attested to you by God with ^[b]miracles and ^(C)wonders and ^[c]signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— ²³ this Man, delivered over by the ^(D)predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, ^(E)you nailed to a cross by the hands of ^[d]godless men and put Him to death. ^24 [e]But ^(F)God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the ^[f]agony of death, since it ^(G)was impossible for Him to be held ^[g]in its power. ²⁵ For David says of Him,

²⁹ “^[k]Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the ^(K)patriarch David that he both ^(L)died and ^(M)was buried, and ^(N)his tomb is ^[l]with us to this day. ³⁰ So because he was ^(O)a prophet and knew that ^(P)God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one ^[m]of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the ^[n]Christ, that ^(Q)He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh ^[o]suffer decay. ³² It is this Jesus whom ^(R)God raised up, ^[p]a fact to which we are all ^(S)witnesses. ³³ Therefore, ^[q]since He has been exalted ^[r](T)at the right hand of God, and ^(U)has received ^(V)the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has ^(W)poured out this which you both see and hear. ³⁴ For it was not David who ascended into ^[s]heaven, but he himself says:

³⁶ Therefore let all the ^(Y)house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both ^(Z)Lord and ^[t]Christ—this Jesus ^(AA)whom you crucified.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were ^[u]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “^[v]Brothers, ^(AB)what are we to do?” ³⁸ Peter said to them, “^(AC)Repent, and each of you be ^(AD)baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For ^(AE)the promise is for you and your children and for all who are ^(AF)far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he solemnly ^(AG)testified and kept on urging them, saying, “^[w]Be saved from this ^(AH)perverse generation!” ⁴¹ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand ^[x](AI)souls. ⁴² They were ^(AJ)continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to ^(AK)the breaking of bread and ^(AL)to ^[y]prayer.

^43 [z]Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many ^(AM)wonders and ^[aa]signs were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all the believers ^[ab]were together and ^(AN)had all things in common; ⁴⁵ and they ^(AO)would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. ^46 (AP)Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and ^(AQ)breaking bread ^[ac]from house to house, they were taking their ^[ad]meals together with gladness and ^[ae]sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and ^(AR)having favor with all the people. And the Lord ^(AS)was adding to ^[af]their number day by day ^(AT)those who were being saved.

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “^(A)Do not let your heart be troubled; ^[a]believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many ^[b]rooms; if that were not so, ^[c]I would have told you, because ^(B)I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, ^(C)I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that ^(D)where I am, there you also will be. ⁴ And you know the way where I am going.” ^5 (E)Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus *said to him, “I am ^(F)the way, and ^(G)the truth, and ^(H)the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

Oneness with the Father

^7 (I)If you ^[d]had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you ^(J)know Him, and have ^(K)seen Him.”

^8 (L)Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus *said to him, “Have I been with ^[e]you for so long a time, and yet ^[f]you have not come to know Me, Philip? ^(M)The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that ^(N)I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? ^(O)The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works. ¹¹ Believe Me that ^(P)I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise ^(Q)believe because of the works themselves. ¹² Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and ^(R)greater works than these he will do; because ^(S)I am going to the Father. ¹³ And ^(T)whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that ^(U)the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask Me anything ^(V)in My name, I will do it.