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1 Samuel 17:32-58
Christian Standard Bible
1 Samuel 17:32-58
Christian Standard Bible
32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him;(A) your servant will go(B) and fight this Philistine!”
33 But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”
34 David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth.(C) If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur,[a] strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “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.”(D)
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”(E)
38 Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 39 David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. 40 Instead, he took his staff in his hand(F) and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
41 The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him(G) because he was just a youth, healthy[b](H) and handsome. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog(I) that you come against me with sticks?” [c] Then he cursed David by his gods.(J) 44 “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” (K)
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him.(L) 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses[d] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,(M) 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves,(N) for the battle is the Lord’s.(O) He will hand you over to us.”
48 When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.(P) 49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. 50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. 51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword,(Q) pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.(R) 52 The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.[e](S) Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road(T) to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. 54 David took Goliath’s[f] head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 [g] When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” (U)
“Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.
56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”
57 When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.(V) 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,”(W) David answered.
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1 Samuel 17:32-58
New International Version
1 Samuel 17:32-58
New International Version
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.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own(I) tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 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. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer(J) in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome,(K) and he despised(L) him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog,(M) that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds(N) and the wild animals!(O)”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,(P) but I come against you in the name(Q) of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.(R) 46 This day the Lord will deliver(S) you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses(T) of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world(U) will know that there is a God in Israel.(V) 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword(W) or spear that the Lord saves;(X) for the battle(Y) is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling(Z) and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 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(AA) off his head with the sword.(AB)
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[a] and to the gates of Ekron.(AC) Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim(AD) road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David(AE) going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner,(AF) whose son is that young man?”
Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
57 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.
58 “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.
David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse(AG) of Bethlehem.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:52 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew of a valley
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
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