1 Samuel 17:24-40

New King James Version

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, ^(A)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 ^(B)the reproach from Israel? For who is this ^(C)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^(D)defy the armies of ^(E)the living God?”

²⁷ And the people answered him in this manner, saying, ^(F)“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 ^(G)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? ^(H)Is^[a] there not a cause?” ³⁰ Then he turned from him toward another and ^(I)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, ^(J)“Let no man’s heart fail because of him; ^(K)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

³³ And Saul said to David, ^(L)“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 ^(M)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, ^(N)“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, ^(O)“Go, and the Lord be with you!”

³⁸ So Saul clothed David with his ^[b]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.