Old/New Testament
David and Goliath
17 The Philistines gathered their armies for war. They met at Socoh in Judah. Their camp was at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah. And they camped there. They took their positions to fight the Philistines. 3 The Philistines controlled one hill. The Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them.
4 The Philistines had a champion fighter named Goliath. He was from Gath. He was about nine feet four inches tall. He came out of the Philistine camp. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head. And he wore a coat of scale armor. It was made of bronze and weighed about 125 pounds. 6 He wore bronze protectors on his legs. And he had a small spear of bronze tied on his back. 7 The wooden part of his larger spear was like a weaver’s rod. And its blade weighed about 15 pounds. The officer who carried his shield walked in front of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. 9 If he can fight and kill me, we will become your servants. But if I defeat and kill him, you will become our servants.” 10 Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very afraid.
12 Now David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite. Jesse was from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. 13 His three oldest sons followed Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab. The second son was Abinadab. And the third son was Shammah. 14 David was the youngest son. Jesse’s three oldest sons followed Saul. 15 But David went back and forth from Saul to Bethlehem. There he took care of his father’s sheep.
16 The Philistine Goliath came out every morning and evening. He stood before the Israelite army. This continued for 40 days.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this half bushel of cooked grain. And take ten loaves of bread. Take them to your brothers in the camp. 18 Also take ten pieces of cheese. Give them to the commander of your brothers’ group of 1,000 soldiers. See how your brothers are. Bring back something to show me they are all right. 19 Your brothers are with Saul and the army in the Valley of Elah. They are fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the sheep with another shepherd. He took the food and left as Jesse had told him. When David arrived at the camp, the army was leaving. They were going out to their battle positions. The soldiers were shouting their war cry. 21 The Israelites and Philistines were lining up their men to face each other in battle.
22 David left the food with the man who kept the supplies. Then he ran to the battle line and talked to his brothers. 23 While he was talking with them, Goliath came out. He was the Philistine champion from Gath. He shouted things against Israel as usual, and David heard it. 24 When the Israelites saw Goliath, they were very much afraid and ran away.
25 They said, “Look at this man Goliath. He keeps coming out to speak against Israel. The king will give much money to the man who kills Goliath. He will also give his daughter in marriage to whoever kills him. And his father’s family will not have to pay taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men who stood near him, “What will be done to reward the man who kills this Philistine? What will be done for whoever takes away the shame from Israel? Goliath is a Philistine. He is not circumcised. Why does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?”
27 The Israelites told David what they had been saying. They said, “This is what will be done for the man who kills Goliath.”
28 David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers. He became angry with David. He asked David, “Why did you come here? Who’s taking care of those few sheep of yours in the desert? I know you are proud. Your attitude is very bad. You came down here just to watch the battle!”
29 David asked, “Now what have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?” 30 He then turned to other people and asked the same questions. And they gave him the same answer as before. 31 Some men heard what David said and told Saul. Then Saul ordered David to be sent to him.
32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. I, your servant, will go and fight this Philistine!”
33 Saul answered, “You can’t go out against this Philistine and fight him. You’re only a boy. Goliath has been a warrior since he was a young man.”
34 But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, have been keeping my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a sheep from the flock, 35 I would chase it. I would attack it and save the sheep from its mouth. When it attacked me, I caught it by its fur. I would hit it and kill it. 36 I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! Goliath, the Philistine who is not circumcised, will be like the lion or bear I killed. He will die because he has stood against the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord saved me from a lion and a bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and armor on his body. 39 David put on Saul’s sword and tried to walk around. But he was not used to all the armor Saul had put on him.
He said to Saul, “I can’t go in this. I’m not used to it.” Then David took it all off. 40 He took his stick in his hand. And he chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his pouch and held his sling in his hand. Then he went to meet Goliath.
41 At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. 42 Goliath looked at David. He saw that David was only a boy, tanned and handsome. He looked down at David with disgust. 43 He said, “Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?” He used his gods’ names to curse David. 44 He said to David, “Come here. I’ll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!”
45 But David said to him, “You come to me using a sword, a large spear and a small spear. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven’s armies. He’s the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken out against him. 46 Today the Lord will give you to me. I’ll kill you, and I’ll cut off your head. Today I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel! 47 Everyone gathered here will know the Lord does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him! And he will help us defeat all of you.”
48 As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. 49 He took a stone from his pouch. He put it into his sling and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine on his forehead and sank into it. Goliath fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone! He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand. 51 David ran and stood beside the Philistine. He took Goliath’s sword out of its holder and killed him. Then he cut off Goliath’s head.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 The men of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. They chased them all the way to the entrance to the city of Gath. And they chased them to the gates of Ekron.
Many of the Philistines died. Their bodies lay on the Shaaraim road as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 The Israelites returned after chasing the Philistines. Then they took many things from the Philistine camp. 54 David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem. He also put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 Saul had watched David go out to meet Goliath. Saul spoke to Abner, commander of the army. He said, “Abner, who is that young man’s father?”
Abner answered, “As surely as you live, my king, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out whose son he is.”
57 When David came back from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul. David still held Goliath’s head.
58 Saul asked him, “Young man, who is your father?”
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
Saul Fears David
18 When David finished talking with Saul, Jonathan felt very close to David. He loved David as much as he loved himself. 2 Saul kept David with him from that day on. He did not let David go home to his father’s house. 3 Jonathan made an agreement with David. He did this because he loved David as much as himself. 4 He took off his coat and gave it to David. He also gave David his uniform, including his sword, bow and belt.
5 Saul sent David to fight in different battles. And David was very successful. Then Saul put David over the soldiers. When he did this, Saul’s officers and all the other people were pleased.
6 After David had killed the Philistine, he and the men returned home. Women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul. They sang songs of joy, danced and played tambourines and stringed instruments. 7 As they played, they sang,
“Saul has killed thousands of his enemies.
But David has killed tens of thousands!”
8 The women’s song upset Saul, and he became very angry. He thought, “The women say David has killed tens of thousands of enemies. But they say I killed only thousands of enemies. The only thing left for him to have is the kingdom!” 9 So Saul watched David closely from then on. He was jealous of him.
10 The next day an evil spirit from God entered Saul with power. And he prophesied in his house. David was playing the harp as he usually did. But Saul had a spear in his hand. 11 He raised the spear and thought, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David got away from him two times.
12 The Lord was with David but had left Saul. So Saul was afraid of David. 13 He sent David away from him. He made David commander of 1,000 soldiers. So David led them in battle. 14 He had great success in everything he did because the Lord was with him. 15 Saul saw that David was very successful. And he became even more afraid of David. 16 But all the people of Israel and Judah loved David. This was because he led them well in battle.
Saul’s Daughter and David
17 Saul said to David, “You’re a brave soldier. And you fight the Lord’s battles. Here is my older daughter Merab. I will let you marry her.” Saul had decided, “I won’t have to kill David. The Philistines will do that!”
18 But David said, “I am not good enough for this honor. And my family is not important enough for me to become the king’s son-in-law.” 19 So when the time came for Saul’s daughter Merab to marry David, Saul gave her instead to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now Saul’s other daughter Michal loved David. When they told Saul about Michal loving David, he was pleased. 21 He thought, “I will let Michal marry David. Then she will become a trap for him. And the Philistines will defeat him.” So Saul said to David a second time, “You may become my son-in-law.”
22 And Saul gave an order to his servants. He told them, “Speak to David in private. Say, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you. His servants like you. You should become his son-in-law.’”
23 Saul’s servants said these words to David. But David answered, “Do you think it is easy to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man. Nobody knows me.”
24 Then Saul’s servants told him what David had said. 25 Saul said, “Say to David, ‘The king doesn’t want you to pay a large price for the bride. All he wants is 100 Philistine foreskins. Then he will be even with his enemies.’” Saul planned to let the Philistines kill David.
26 Saul’s servants told David these words. David was pleased that he could become the king’s son-in-law. 27 So he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. David took all their foreskins and brought them to Saul. He wanted to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. 28 Saul saw that the Lord was with David. He also saw that his daughter Michal loved David. 29 So he became even more afraid of David. And he was David’s enemy all his life.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to fight the Israelites. But every time, David defeated them. He had more success than Saul’s officers. And he became famous.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
11 One time Jesus was praying in a place. When he finished, one of his followers said to him, “John taught his followers how to pray. Lord, please teach us how to pray, too.”
2 Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, we pray that your name will always be kept holy.
We pray that your kingdom will come.
3 Give us the food we need for each day.
4 Forgive us the sins we have done,
because we forgive every person who has done wrong to us.
And do not cause us to be tested.’”[a]
Continue to Ask
5-6 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you went to your friend’s house at midnight and said to him, ‘A friend of mine has come into town to visit me. But I have nothing for him to eat. Please loan me three loaves of bread.’ 7 Your friend inside the house answers, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked. My children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you the bread now.’ 8 I tell you, maybe friendship is not enough to make him get up to give you the bread. But he will surely get up to give you what you need if you continue to ask. 9 So I tell you, continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. 10 Yes, if a person continues asking, he will receive. If he continues searching, he will find. And if he continues knocking, the door will open for him. 11 What would you fathers do if your son asks you for[b] a fish? Would any of you give him a snake? 12 Or, if your son asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? 13 Even though you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father knows how to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Jesus’ Power Is from God
14 One time Jesus was sending a demon out of a man who could not talk. When the demon came out, the man was able to speak. The people were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul to force demons out of people. Beelzebul is the ruler of demons.”
16 Other people wanted to test Jesus. They asked him to give them a sign from heaven. 17 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that is divided and fights against itself will be destroyed. And a family that fights against itself will break apart. 18 So if Satan is fighting against himself, then how will his kingdom last? You say that I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons. 19 But if I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, then by what power do your people force out demons? So your own people prove that you are wrong. 20 But if I use the power of God to force out demons, the kingdom of God has come to you!
21 “When a strong man with many weapons guards his own house, then the things in his house are safe. 22 But suppose a stronger man comes and defeats him. The stronger man will take away the weapons that the first man trusted to keep his house safe. Then the stronger man will do what he wants with the first man’s things.
23 “If anyone is not with me, he is against me. He who does not work with me is working against me.
The Empty Man
24 “When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry places, looking for a place to rest. But that spirit finds no place to rest. So it says, ‘I will go back to the home I left.’ 25 When the spirit comes back to that person, it finds that home swept clean and made neat. 26 Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself. Then all the evil spirits go into that person and live there. And he has even more trouble than he had before.”
People Who Are Truly Blessed
27 When Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out. She said to Jesus, “Your mother is blessed because she gave birth to you and nursed you.”
28 But Jesus said, “Those who hear the teaching of God and obey it—they are the ones who are truly blessed.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.