⁴ A champion named Goliath,^(A) who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.^{[a] 5} He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels^[b]; ⁶ on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin^(B) was slung on his back. ⁷ His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod,^(C) and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.^[c] His shield bearer^(D) went ahead of him.

⁸ Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose^(E) a man and have him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” ¹⁰ Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy^(F) the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.^(G)” ¹¹ On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

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.”

⁴¹ Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer^(A) 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,^(B) and he despised^(C) him. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog,^(D) 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^(E) and the wild animals!^(F)”

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,^(G) but I come against you in the name^(H) of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.^(I)