Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise the Lord with Music

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.

Jesus Appears to His Followers

³⁶ While the two followers were telling this, Jesus himself stood among those gathered. He said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ They were fearful and terrified. They thought they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸ But Jesus said, “Why are you troubled? Why do you doubt what you see? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me. You can see that I have a living body; a ghost does not have a body like this.”

⁴⁰ After Jesus said this, he showed them his hands and feet.