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1 Samuel 17
Legacy Standard Bible

Goliath Challenges Israel

17 Now (A)the Philistines gathered their camps 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 But Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in (E)the valley of Elah and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Philistines. 3 Now the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came out from the camps of the Philistines named (F)Goliath, from (G)Gath, whose height was [a]six cubits and a [b]span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, and the weight of that scale-armor was five thousand [c]shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze [d]greaves on his legs and a (H)bronze [e]javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 (I)And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; (J)his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8 And he stood and called out to the [f]battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to arrange yourselves for battle? Am I not the Philistine and you (K)slaves of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 (L)If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, then we will become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you shall become our slaves and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “(M)I openly [g]reproach the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was (N)the son of [h]the (O)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and (P)he had eight sons. And [i]Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 And the three older sons of Jesse had gone. They had gone after Saul to the battle. And (Q)the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 (R)But David was the youngest. Now the three oldest had gone after Saul, 15 (S)but David went back and forth from Saul (T)to shepherd his father’s flock at Bethlehem.

16 Then the Philistine approached, morning and evening, for forty days and took his stand.

17 Then Jesse said to David his son, “(U)Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 (V)You shall also bring these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, (W)and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back [j]a token from them. 19 And Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”

20 So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and carried the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the (X)circle of the camp while the military force was going out in battle lines shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines arranged themselves in battle lines, battle line [k]against battle line. 22 Then David left his (Y)baggage in the [l]care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23 As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines, and he spoke (Z)these same words; and David heard them.

24 Now all the men of Israel saw the man, and they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to [m]reproach Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who strikes him down with great riches and (AA)will give him his daughter and make his father’s house [n]free in Israel.”

26 Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and takes away (AB)the reproach from Israel? For who is this (AC)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should [o](AD)reproach the battle lines of (AE)the living God?” 27 And the people spoke to him in accord with this word, saying, “(AF)Thus it will be done for the man who strikes him down.”

28 Then Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and (AG)Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your arrogance and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a word?” 30 Then he turned [p]away from him to another and (AH)said the same word; and the people responded to him with the same word as [q]before.

David Puts Goliath to Death

31 Then the words which David spoke were heard. And they told them [r]to Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “(AI)Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; (AJ)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Then Saul said to David, “(AK)You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep. And a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock, 35 and I would go out after it and strike it and (AL)rescue the lamb from its mouth. Then it rose up against me, and I would seize it by its beard and strike it down and put it to death. 36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has [s]reproached the battle lines of the living God.” 37 And David said, “(AM)Yahweh, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “(AN)Go, and may Yahweh be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his robes and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39 And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them [t]off. 40 Then he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and (AO)his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

41 Then the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And the Philistine looked and saw David. And (AP)he despised him; for he was but a youth and (AQ)ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “(AR)Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And (AS)the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh (AT)to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, (AU)but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have [u]reproached. 46 This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the (AV)dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, (AW)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that (AX)Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; (AY)for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that (AZ)David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David sent his hand down into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and put him to death; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and (BA)took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and put him to death and cut off his head with it. (BB)Then the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, so they fled. 52 But the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines [v]as far as the valley and to the gates of (BC)Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay fallen along the way to (BD)Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the sons of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54 And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

55 Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is (BE)this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” 57 So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and (BF)brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “(BG)I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 17:4 Approx. 9 ft. or 2.7 m, a cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
  2. 1 Samuel 17:4 A span was approx. 9 in. or 23 cm
  3. 1 Samuel 17:5 A shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
  4. 1 Samuel 17:6 Or shin guards
  5. 1 Samuel 17:6 Or scimitar
  6. 1 Samuel 17:8 Lit lines, so in ch
  7. 1 Samuel 17:10 Or defy
  8. 1 Samuel 17:12 Lit this
  9. 1 Samuel 17:12 Lit the man
  10. 1 Samuel 17:18 Lit their pledge
  11. 1 Samuel 17:21 Lit to meet
  12. 1 Samuel 17:22 Lit hand
  13. 1 Samuel 17:25 Or defy
  14. 1 Samuel 17:25 Free from taxes and public service
  15. 1 Samuel 17:26 Or defy
  16. 1 Samuel 17:30 Lit from beside him
  17. 1 Samuel 17:30 Lit the former word
  18. 1 Samuel 17:31 Lit before
  19. 1 Samuel 17:36 Or defied
  20. 1 Samuel 17:39 Lit off from himself
  21. 1 Samuel 17:45 Or defied
  22. 1 Samuel 17:52 Lit until your coming to
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1 Samuel 17
New Living Translation

Goliath Challenges the Israelites

17 The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. 3 So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet[a] tall! 5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds.[b] 6 He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. 7 The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds.[c] His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.

8 Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! 9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

Jesse Sends David to Saul’s Camp

12 Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea[d]—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines. 14 David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, 15 but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.

16 For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.

17 One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket[e] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. 18 And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.[f]” 19 David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.

20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. 21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.

24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”

28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”

29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

David Kills Goliath

32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.

“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

Israel Routs the Philistines

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath[g] and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. 54 (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)

55 As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”

“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.

56 “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.

57 As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58 “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.

And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”

Footnotes

  1. 17:4 Hebrew 6 cubits and 1 span [which totals about 9.75 feet or 3 meters]; Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read 4 cubits and 1 span [which totals about 6.75 feet or 2 meters].
  2. 17:5 Hebrew 5,000 shekels [57 kilograms].
  3. 17:7 Hebrew 600 shekels [6.8 kilograms].
  4. 17:13 Hebrew Shammah, a variant spelling of Shimea; compare 1 Chr 2:13; 20:7.
  5. 17:17 Hebrew ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters].
  6. 17:18 Hebrew and take their pledge.
  7. 17:52 As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew reads a valley.
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