David and Goliath

17 Now the Philistines ^(A)gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at ^(B)Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and ^(C)Azekah, in ^(D)Ephes-dammim. ² And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in ^(E)the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. ³ And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. ⁴ And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named ^(F)Goliath of ^(G)Gath, whose height was six^[a] cubits^[b] and a span. ⁵ He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels^[c] of bronze. ⁶ And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a ^(H)javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. ⁷ The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. ^(I)And his shield-bearer went before him. ⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and ^(J)are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants ^(K)and serve us.” ¹⁰ And the Philistine said, ^(L)“I defy the ranks 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.

⁴¹ And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, ^(A)with his shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ^(B)ruddy and handsome in appearance. ⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, “Am I ^(C)a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^(D)to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” ⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with ^(E)a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, ^(F)whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. ^(G)And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day ^(H)to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, ^(I)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this assembly may know that ^(J)the Lord saves not with sword and spear. ^(K)For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”

⁴⁸ When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.

³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, ^(A)forgive them, ^(B)for they know not what they do.”^[a] And they cast lots ^(C)to divide his garments. ³⁵ And ^(D)the people stood by, watching, ^(E)but ^(F)the rulers ^(G)scoffed at him, saying, ^(H)“He saved others; ^(I)let him save himself, ^(J)if he is ^(K)the Christ of God, ^(L)his Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and ^(M)offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, ^(N)“If you are ^(O)the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ^38 (P)There was also an inscription over him,^[b] “This is ^(Q)the King of the Jews.”

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and ^(A)sin which clings so closely, and ^(B)let us run ^(C)with endurance the race that is ^(D)set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, ^(E)who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising ^(F)the shame, and ^(G)is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.