1 Samuel 17
Holman Christian Standard Bible
David versus Goliath
17 The Philistines(A) gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh(B) and Azekah(C) in Ephes-dammim.(D) 2 Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah;(E) then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.
3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them. 4 Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath,(F) came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall[a][b] 5 and wore a bronze helmet[c] and bronze scale armor that weighed 125 pounds.[d] 6 There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze sword(G) was slung between his shoulders. 7 His spear shaft(H) was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 15 pounds.[e] In addition, a shield-bearer(I) was walking in front of him.
8 He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations: “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul?(J) Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. 9 If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.”(K) 10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today.(L) Send me a man so we can fight each other!” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.
12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite(M) from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons(N) and during Saul’s reign was already an old man. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names(O) were Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third, 14 and David was the youngest.(P) The three oldest had followed Saul, 15 but David kept going back and forth from Saul(Q) to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem.
16 Every morning and evening for 40 days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. 17 One day Jesse had told his son David: “Take this half-bushel[f] of roasted grain along with these 10 loaves of bread(R) for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Also take these 10 portions of cheese to the field commander.[g] Check on the welfare of your brothers(S) and bring a confirmation from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.”
20 So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him.
He arrived at the perimeter of the camp(T) as the army was marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other. 22 David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster(U) and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were. 23 While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words,(V) which David heard. 24 When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.
25 Previously, an Israelite man had declared: “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter.(W) The king will also make the household of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”(X)
26 David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?(Y) Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine(Z) that he should defy the armies(AA) of the living God?”(AB)
27 The people told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”(AC)
28 David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and became angry with him.(AD) “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!”
29 “What have I done now?” protested David. “It was just a question.” 30 Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before.(AE)
31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him. 32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by[h] him;(AF) your servant will go(AG) and fight this Philistine!”
33 But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”
34 David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth.(AH) If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur,[i] strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”(AI)
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”(AJ)
38 Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 39 David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. 40 Instead, he took his staff in his hand(AK) and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
41 The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him(AL) because he was just a youth, healthy[j](AM) and handsome. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog(AN) that you come against me with sticks?”[k] Then he cursed David by his gods.(AO) 44 “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!”(AP)
45 David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him.(AQ) 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses[l] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,(AR) 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves,(AS) for the battle is the Lord’s.(AT) He will hand you over to us.”
48 When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.(AU) 49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword,(AV) pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran.(AW) 52 The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.[m](AX) Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road(AY) to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. 54 David took Goliath’s[n] head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 [o] When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?”(AZ)
“My king, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.
56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”
57 When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.(BA) 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,”(BB) David answered.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:4 DSS, LXX read four cubits and a span
- 1 Samuel 17:4 Lit was six cubits and a span
- 1 Samuel 17:5 Lit helmet on his head
- 1 Samuel 17:5 Lit 5,000 shekels
- 1 Samuel 17:7 Lit 600 shekels
- 1 Samuel 17:17 Lit this ephah
- 1 Samuel 17:18 Lit the leader of 1,000
- 1 Samuel 17:32 Lit let a man’s heart fall over
- 1 Samuel 17:35 LXX reads throat; lit beard
- 1 Samuel 17:42 Or ruddy
- 1 Samuel 17:43 Some LXX mss add and stones?” And David said, “No! Worse than a dog!”
- 1 Samuel 17:46 LXX reads give your limbs and the limbs
- 1 Samuel 17:52 LXX reads Ashkelon
- 1 Samuel 17:54 Lit the Philistine’s
- 1 Samuel 17:55 LXX omits 1Sm 17:55–18:5
1 Samuel 17
English Standard Version
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.
12 Now David was (M)the son of an (N)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, (O)named Jesse, (P)who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.[d] 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And (Q)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 (R)David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul (S)to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah[e] of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 (T)Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. (U)See if your brothers are well, 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 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to (V)the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the (W)things in charge of the keeper of the (X)baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, (Y)the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke (Z)the same words as before. And David heard him.
24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to (AA)defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches (AB)and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away (AC)the reproach from Israel? For who is this (AD)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should (AE)defy the armies of (AF)the living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, (AG)“So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And 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 to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke (AH)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 And David said to Saul, (AI)“Let no man's heart fail because of him. (AJ)Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, (AK)for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, (AL)“The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, (AM)and the Lord be with you!”
38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, (AN)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, (AO)ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I (AP)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 (AQ)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 (AR)a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, (AS)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. (AT)And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day (AU)to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, (AV)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that (AW)the Lord saves not with sword and spear. (AX)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. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine (AY)and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, (AZ)they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath[f] and the gates of (BA)Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from (BB)Shaaraim as far as (BC)Gath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took (BD)the head of the Philistine (BE)and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, (BF)the commander of the army, “Abner, (BG)whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, (BH)“As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul (BI)with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, (BJ)“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:4 Hebrew; Septuagint, Dead Sea Scroll and Josephus four
- 1 Samuel 17:4 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- 1 Samuel 17:5 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- 1 Samuel 17:12 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew advanced among men
- 1 Samuel 17:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
- 1 Samuel 17:52 Septuagint; Hebrew Gai
1 Samuel 17
New King James Version
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at (A)Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named (B)Goliath, from (C)Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was [a]armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the (D)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 (E)serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I (F)defy the armies 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 (G)the son of that (H)Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had (I)eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The (J)names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul (K)to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and (L)see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke (M)according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, (N)will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away (O)the reproach from Israel? For who is this (P)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should (Q)defy the armies of (R)the living God?”
27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, (S)“So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s (T)anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29 And David said, “What have I done now? (U)Is[b] there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and (V)said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.
31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, (W)“Let no man’s heart fail because of him; (X)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 And Saul said to David, (Y)“You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a (Z)lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, (AA)“The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, (AB)“Go, and the Lord be with you!”
38 So Saul clothed David with his [c]armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he (AC)disdained[d] him; for he was only a youth, (AD)ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine (AE)said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine (AF)said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. (AG)But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have (AH)defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give (AI)the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, (AJ)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord (AK)does not save with sword and spear; for (AL)the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and (AM)ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a (AN)sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his (AO)sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, (AP)they fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of [e]the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to (AQ)Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to (AR)Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, (AS)whose son is this youth?”
And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”
57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul (AT)with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
So David answered, (AU)“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:5 clothed with scaled body armor
- 1 Samuel 17:29 Lit. Is it not a word? or matter?
- 1 Samuel 17:38 Lit. clothes
- 1 Samuel 17:42 belittled
- 1 Samuel 17:52 So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX Gath
1 Samuel 17
Contemporary English Version
Goliath Challenges Israel's Army
17 The Philistines got ready for war and brought their troops together to attack the town of Socoh in Judah. They set up camp at Ephes-Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.[a] 2-3 King Saul and the Israelite army set up camp on a hill overlooking Elah Valley, and they got ready to fight the Philistine army that was on a hill on the other side of the valley.
4 The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and was about three meters[b] tall. 5-6 He wore a bronze helmet and had bronze armor to protect his chest and legs. The chest armor alone weighed about 57 kilograms. He carried a bronze sword strapped on his back, 7 and his spear was so big that the iron spearhead alone weighed about seven kilograms. A soldier always walked in front of Goliath to carry his shield.
8 Goliath went out and shouted to the army of Israel:
Why are you lining up for battle? I'm the best soldier in our army, and all of you are in Saul's army. Choose your best soldier to come out and fight me! 9 If he can kill me, our people will be your slaves. But if I kill him, your people will be our slaves. 10 Here and now I challenge Israel's whole army! Choose someone to fight me!
11 Saul and his men heard what Goliath said, but they were so frightened of Goliath that they couldn't do a thing.
David Decides To Challenge Goliath
12 David's father Jesse was an old man, who belonged to the Ephrath clan and lived in Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons: 13-14 the oldest was Eliab, the next was Abinadab, and Shammah was the third. The three of them had gone off to fight in Saul's army.
David was Jesse's youngest son. 15 (A) He took care of his father's sheep, and he went back and forth between Bethlehem and Saul's camp.
16 Goliath came out and gave his challenge every morning and every evening for 40 days.
17 One day, Jesse told David, “Hurry and take this sack of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the army camp. 18 And here are ten large chunks of cheese to take to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back something that shows that they're all right. 19 They're with Saul's army, fighting the Philistines in Elah Valley.”
20 David obeyed his father. He got up early the next morning and left someone else in charge of the sheep; then he loaded the supplies and started off. He reached the army camp just as the soldiers were taking their places and shouting the battle cry. 21 The army of Israel and the Philistine army stood there facing each other.
22 David left his things with the man in charge of supplies and ran up to the battle line to ask his brothers if they were well. 23 While David was talking with them, Goliath came out from the line of Philistines and started boasting as usual. David heard him.
24 When the Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were scared and ran off. 25 They said to each other, “Look how he keeps coming out to insult us. The king is offering a big reward to the man who kills Goliath. That man will even get to marry the king's daughter, and no one in his family will ever have to pay taxes again.”
26 David asked some soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine think he is? He's making fun of the army of the living God!”
27 The soldiers told David what the king would give the man who killed Goliath.
28 David's oldest brother Eliab heard him talking with the soldiers. Eliab was angry with him and said, “What are you doing here, anyway? Who's taking care of your little flock of sheep out in the desert? You spoiled brat! You came here just to watch the fighting, didn't you?”
29 “Now what have I done?” David answered. “Can't I even ask a question?” 30 Then he turned and asked another soldier the same thing he had asked the others, and he got the same answer.
31 Some soldiers overheard David talking, so they told Saul what David had said. Saul sent for David, and David came. 32 “Your Majesty,” he said, “this Philistine shouldn't turn us into cowards. I'll go out and fight him myself!”
33 “You don't have a chance against him,” Saul replied. “You're only a boy, and he's been a soldier all his life.”
34 But David told him:
Your Majesty, I take care of my father's sheep. And when one of them is dragged off by a lion or a bear, 35 I go after it and beat the wild animal until it lets the sheep go. If the wild animal turns and attacks me, I grab it by the throat and kill it.
36 Sir, I have killed lions and bears that way, and I can kill this worthless Philistine. He shouldn't have made fun of the army of the living God! 37 The Lord has rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe from the hands of this Philistine.
“All right,” Saul answered, “go ahead and fight him. And I hope the Lord will help you.”
38 Saul had his own military clothes and armor put on David, and he gave David a bronze helmet to wear. 39 David strapped on a sword and tried to walk around, but he was not used to wearing those things.
“I can't move with all this stuff on,” David said. “I'm just not used to it.”
David took off the armor 40 and picked up his shepherd's stick. He went out to a stream and picked up five smooth rocks and put them in his leather bag. Then with his sling in his hand, he went straight toward Goliath.
David Kills Goliath
41 Goliath came toward David, walking behind the soldier who was carrying his shield. 42 When Goliath saw that David was just a healthy, good-looking boy, he made fun of him. 43 (B) “Do you think I'm a dog?” Goliath asked. “Is that why you've come after me with a stick?” He cursed David in the name of the Philistine gods 44 and shouted, “Come on! When I'm finished with you, I'll feed you to the birds and wild animals!”
45 David answered:
You've come out to fight me with a sword and a spear and a dagger. But I've come out to fight you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel's army, and you have insulted him too!
46 Today the Lord will help me defeat you. I'll knock you down and cut off your head, and I'll feed the bodies of the other Philistine soldiers to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a real God. 47 Everybody here will see that the Lord doesn't need swords or spears to save his people. The Lord always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.
48 When Goliath started forward, David ran toward him. 49 He put a rock in his sling and swung the sling around by its straps. When he let go of one strap, the rock flew out and hit Goliath on the forehead. It cracked his skull, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 (C) David defeated Goliath with a sling and a rock. He killed him without even using a sword.
51 (D) David ran over and pulled out Goliath's sword. Then he used it to cut off Goliath's head.
When the Philistines saw what had happened to their hero, they started running away. 52 But the soldiers of Israel and Judah let out a battle cry and went after them as far as Gath[c] and Ekron. The bodies of the Philistines were scattered all along the road from Shaaraim to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelite army returned from chasing the Philistines, they took what they wanted from the enemy camp. 54 David took Goliath's head to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath's weapons in his own tent.
David Becomes One of Saul's Officers
55 After King Saul had watched David go out to fight Goliath, Saul turned to the commander of his army and said, “Abner, who is that young man?”
“Your Majesty,” Abner answered, “I swear by your life that I don't know.”
56 “Then find out!” Saul told him.
57 When David came back from fighting Goliath, he was still carrying Goliath's head.
Abner took David to Saul, 58 and Saul asked, “Who are you?”
“I am David the son of Jesse, a loyal Israelite from Bethlehem.”
Footnotes
- 17.1 Socoh and Azekah: Socoh was controlled by the Israelites, while Azekah was in Philistine hands.
- 17.4 about three meters: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of one ancient translation have “about two meters.”
- 17.52 Gath: One ancient translation; Hebrew “a valley.”
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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