1 Samuel 17
O Livro
David e Golias
17 Os filisteus convocaram o seu exército para uma guerra e acamparam entre Socó em Judá e Azeca em Efes-Damim. 2 Saul combatia-os com um ajuntamento de tropas reunidas no vale de Elá. 3 Os filisteus e os israelitas encontravam-se frente a frente em duas colinas opostas com o vale entre eles.
4 Golias, um grande guerreiro originário de Gate, avançou nas fileiras dos filisteus e colocou-se diante das forças militares israelitas. Tratava-se de um verdadeiro gigante; media para cima de 3 metros de altura! 5 Trazia um capacete de bronze e vestia uma couraça que pesava uns 60 quilos. 6 Tinha as pernas protegidas com caneleiras também de bronze e a sua lança, do mesmo metal, tinha vários centímetros de espessura, 7 estando guarnecida com uma ponta de ferro com cerca de 7 quilos. O seu escudeiro ia à frente carregando um grande escudo.
8-9 Golias parou então e gritou para os israelitas: “Porque precisam de um exército alinhado para a batalha? Não sou eu um filisteu e vocês servos de Saul? Escolham algum dos vossos para combater comigo. Se o vosso homem conseguir matar-me, seremos vossos escravos, mas se for eu a matá-lo, serão vocês nossos escravos! 10 Desafio os exércitos de Israel! Mandem vir um homem que combata comigo!” 11 Ao ouvir isto, Saul e todo o exército israelita ficaram extremamente angustiados e aterrorizados.
12 Em Belém de Judá havia um homem da família de Efraim chamado Jessé. Tinha oito filhos e um deles era David. Nesta altura Jessé já era bastante idoso. 13 Os seus três filhos mais velhos, Eliabe, Abinadabe e Samá, tinham seguido o exército de Saul para combaterem os filisteus. 14 Enquanto os três mais velhos permaneciam com o exército do rei, David, que era o mais novo, 15 ia ter com Saul e voltava para Belém, a fim de cuidar do rebanho de seu pai.
16 Durante 40 dias, duas vezes por dia, de manhã e à tarde, o gigante filisteu pavoneava-se perante as forças israelitas.
17 Um dia, Jessé disse ao seu filho David: “Leva estes 22 litros de grão torrado mais estes dez bolos aos teus irmãos. 18 Dá também esses queijos ao capitão e vê se estão a passar bem. Toma conta de algum recado que me queiram mandar.”
19 Saul e as suas forças militares estavam acampados no vale de Elá. 20 David deixou as ovelhas entregues a outro pastor e partiu de manhã cedo levando o que o pai enviava aos filhos. Chegou à entrada do acampamento, quando o exército israelita se preparava para a batalha com gritos e apelos à luta. 21 As forças inimigas encontravam-se frente a frente em disposição de combate. 22 David entregou o seu fardo ao bagageiro e correu para as fileiras à procura dos irmãos. 23 Enquanto conversava com eles, viu Golias avançar entre os pelotões filisteus e gritar o seu desafio às tropas de Israel. E David ouviu-o. 24 Assim que o viram, recuaram aterrorizados.
25 “Viste aquele gigante?”, perguntavam os soldados. “Tem insultado o exército de Israel. O rei ofereceu já uma enorme recompensa a quem o matar: dar-lhe-á uma das suas filhas e toda a sua família ficará isenta de impostos!”
26 David informou-se, junto de alguns que ali estavam perto, sobre o que fariam àquele que matasse o filisteu e parasse com aqueles insultos a Israel. “Quem é este incircunciso filisteu que ousa desafiar os exércitos do Deus vivo?”, perguntava. 27 E davam-lhe sempre a mesma resposta.
28 O irmão mais velho de David, Eliabe, quando ouviu David falar desta maneira, ficou muito zangado: “Afinal o que estás tu aqui a fazer? A quem deixaste aquelas poucas ovelhas lá no deserto? Sei bem como és atrevido e gabarola! Queres é ver a peleja!”
29 “Que foi que eu fiz agora? Fiz apenas uma pergunta!” 30 E afastou-se para continuar a falar com outros, dizendo-lhe toda a gente a mesma coisa. 31 As pessoas começaram a reparar nele e no que dizia e foram contar a Saul. Este mandou chamá-lo.
32 “Que ninguém se angustie por causa daquele gigante”, disse David. “Eu me encarregarei desse filisteu!”
33 “Como é que um rapaz como tu poderia fazer frente a um homem daqueles que é soldado desde a sua mocidade?”
34 David insistiu: “Quando estou a tomar conta das ovelhas do meu pai, se aparece um leão ou um urso para roubar um cordeiro do rebanho, 35 corro atrás dele e tiro-lhe o cordeiro da boca. Se ele se volta contra mim, agarro-o pelas mandíbulas e despedaço-o até morrer. 36 Fiz isto tanto com ursos como com leões; certamente que poderei fazer o mesmo em relação a esse incircunciso filisteu que teve a ousadia de desafiar os exércitos do Deus vivo! 37 O Senhor, que me salvou dos dentes do leão e do urso, salvar-me-á também deste filisteu!”
Saul, por fim, consentiu: “Está bem, vai lá e que o Senhor seja contigo!”
38 Saul deu-lhe a sua própria armadura; uma couraça de bronze e uma cota de malha. 39 David colocou aquilo tudo sobre si, cingiu a espada e deu dois ou três passos para ver como se sentia, porque era a primeira vez que usava um equipamento de combate. “Eu nem sequer me posso mexer! Nunca andei com coisas destas!” E tirou tudo.
40 Foi depois buscar à torrente, que por ali passava, cinco pequenos seixos e colocou-os no seu alforge; pegou no cajado e na funda e dirigiu-se na direção de Golias. 41 Este veio também ao seu encontro, com o homem que lhe levava o escudo à sua frente, 42 olhando com desprezo aquele rapaz de rosto corado e de aspeto gentil.
43 “Ouve lá, sou algum cão”, rugiu para David, “para vires contra mim com um pau?” E amaldiçoou David pelos nomes dos seus deuses. 44 “Vem cá para que dê a tua carne a comer às aves e aos animais selvagens”, gritou Golias.
45 David, por sua vez, gritou-lhe como resposta: “Tu vens contra mim armado de lança e escudo, mas eu lutarei contigo em nome do Senhor dos exércitos, o Deus das hostes de Israel, o verdadeiro Deus, a quem tens afrontado. 46 Hoje o Senhor te entregará na minha mão; hei de matar-te e cortar-te a cabeça e depois darei os corpos mortos dos teus homens aos pássaros e às feras; toda a gente ficará a saber que há um Deus em Israel! 47 E todos os que aqui estão hão de ver que o Senhor não depende de armas de guerra para dar cumprimento aos seus planos de salvação; ele atua sem estar sujeito a meios humanos. Esta questão é só dele e ele vos entregará na nossa mão.”
48 Golias aproximou-se e David correu ao seu encontro. 49 Tirando do alforge uma das pequenas pedras, pô-la na funda e feriu o filisteu na cabeça. O seixo cravou-se mesmo na fronte, de tal forma que o homem caiu com o rosto no chão. 50 David conseguiu vencer o gigante filisteu com uma simples funda e uma pedra. 51 Como não tinha espada, correu para Golias, tirou a dele da bainha e matou-o cortando-lhe a cabeça. Quando os filisteus viram aquilo, e que o seu campeão estava morto, desataram a fugir.
52 Os israelitas deram um grande grito de triunfo e foram atrás deles, perseguindo-os até Gate e até às portas de Ecrom. Os corpos dos mortos e dos feridos espalhavam-se por todo o caminho de Saaraim. 53 As tropas israelitas regressaram e despojaram o acampamento abandonado pelos filisteus.
54 Mais tarde, David levou a cabeça de Golias para Jerusalém, mas guardou as armas de Golias na sua própria tenda.
55 Saul, quando viu David dirigir-se na direção de Golias, perguntou a Abner, o general do seu exército: “Abner, a que família pertence este rapaz?”
“Realmente não sei!”
56 “Então procura informar-te”, disse-lhe o rei.
57 Depois de David ter matado Golias, Abner trouxe-o junto de Saul com a cabeça do gigante ainda nas mãos.
58 “Fala-me lá do teu pai, meu rapaz”, pediu-lhe Saul.
David respondeu: “Chama-se Jessé. Vivemos em Belém.”
1 Samuel 17
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on 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 Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six[a] cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armoured with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a 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; 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 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 and serve us.’ 10 And the Philistine said, ‘Today I defy the ranks of Israel! 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 the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.[b] 13 The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
17 Jesse said to his son David, ‘Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; 18 also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.’
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 David rose early in the morning, left someone in charge of the sheep, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
24 All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. 25 The Israelites said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.’ 26 David said to the men who stood by him, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’ 27 The people answered him in the same way, ‘So shall it be done for the man who kills him.’
28 His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, ‘Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.’ 29 David said, ‘What have I done now? It was only a question.’ 30 He turned away from him towards another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, ‘Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ 33 Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’ 34 But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.’ 37 David said, ‘The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you!’
38 Saul clothed David with his armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul’s sword over the armour, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.’ So David removed them. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I 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 to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.’ 45 But David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.’
48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath[c] and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, ‘Abner, whose son is this young man?’ Abner said, ‘As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.’ 56 The king said, ‘Inquire whose son the stripling is.’ 57 On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, ‘Whose son are you, young man?’ And David answered, ‘I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.’
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:4 MT: Q Ms Gk four
- 1 Samuel 17:12 Gk Syr: Heb among men
- 1 Samuel 17:52 Gk Syr: Heb Gai
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New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.