1 Samuel 17:29-39

GOD’S WORD Translation

²⁹ “What have I done now?” David snapped at him. “Didn’t I ⌞merely⌟ ask a question?” ³⁰ He turned to face another man and asked the same question, and the other soldiers gave him the same answer.

³¹ What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, who then sent for him. ³² David told Saul, “No one should be discouraged because of this. I will go and fight this Philistine.”

³³ Saul responded to David, “You can’t fight this Philistine. You’re just a boy, but he’s been a warrior since he was your age.”

³⁴ David replied to Saul, “I am a shepherd for my father’s sheep. Whenever a lion 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. If it attacked me, I took hold of its mane, struck it, and killed it. ³⁶ I have killed lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has challenged the army of the living God.” ³⁷ David added, “The Lord, who saved me from the lion and the bear, will save me from this Philistine.”

“Go,” Saul told David, “and may the Lord be with you.”

³⁸ Saul put his battle tunic on David; he put a bronze helmet on David’s head and dressed him in armor. ³⁹ David fastened Saul’s sword over his clothes and tried to walk, but he had never practiced doing this. “I can’t walk in these things,” David told Saul. “I’ve never had any practice doing this.” So David took all those things off.