1 Samuel 17
1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
The Philistines gathered their army [to fight the Israeli army]. They gathered together near Socoh, in the area where the descendants of Judah lived. They set up their tents at Ephes-Dammim, which is between Socoh and Azekah.
2 Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.
Saul gathered the Israeli army near Elah Valley, and they set up their tents. Then they all took their places, ready to fight the Philistines.
3 The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them.
So the Philistine and Israeli armies faced each other. They were on two hills, with a valley between them.
4 Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
Then Goliath, from Gath [city], came out from the Philistine camp. He was a champion warrior/soldier. He was (over 9 feet/3 meters) tall.
5 and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels,
He wore a helmet made of bronze [to protect his head], and he wore a coat made of metal plates [to protect his body]. The coat weighed (125 pounds/56 kg.).
6 and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
He wore bronze guards/protectors on his legs. He had a long bronze dagger fastened on his back.
7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. In addition, his shield bearer went before him.
He also had a big spear. It had a cord on it to enable him to throw it better (OR, which was as thick as a weaver’s beam). The tip of the spear was made of iron and weighed (15 pounds/almost 7 kg.). A soldier carrying a huge shield walked in front of him.
8 And Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and array yourselves for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.
Goliath stood there and shouted to the Israeli army, “Why are you all lined up for battle? I am the great Philistine [soldier], and I think [RHQ] you are [merely] Saul’s slaves. Choose one man to fight for all of you, and send him down here to me!
9 If he is able to fight 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 labor for us.”
If he fights with me and kills me, then my fellow Philistines will all be your slaves. But if I defeat him and kill him, then you Israelis will all be our slaves.
10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
I defy/challenge you men of the Israeli army. Send me a man who will fight with me!”
11 On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.
When Saul and all the Israeli soldiers heard that, they were extremely terrified [DOU].
12 Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons in the days of Saul. And Jesse was old and well along in years.
David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was from the clan of Ephrath. He lived in Bethlehem, in the area where the descendants of Judah lived. Jesse had eight sons. When Saul [was king], Jesse had already become a very old man [DOU].
13 The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
Jesse’s three oldest sons, Eliab and Abinadab and Shammah, had gone with Saul to fight [the Philistines].
14 And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,
David was Jesse’s youngest son. While his three oldest brothers were with Saul,
15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
David went back and forth: Sometimes he went to Saul’s camp, and sometimes he stayed in Bethlehem to take care of his father’s sheep.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening to take his stand.
For 40 days Goliath came out from the Philistine camp and stood there [taunting the Israeli army/telling the Israelis to choose one man to fight with him]. He did it twice each day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
17 One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.
[One day], Jesse said to David, “Here is a sack of roasted grain and ten loaves of bread. Take these quickly to your [older] brothers.
18 Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them.
And here are ten large chunks of cheese. Take them to their commander. And see how things are going with your [older] brothers. Then [if they are okay, ] bring back something to show they are all right.”
19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
His brothers were with Saul and all the other Israeli soldiers, camped alongside Elah Valley, [preparing to] fight the Philistines.
20 So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry.
So David arranged for another shepherd to take care of the sheep. Early the next morning he took the food and went to the Israeli camp, as Jesse told him to do. He arrived there just as the Israeli soldiers were forming their ranks and going out to the battlefield. As they went, they were shouting a war cry.
21 And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other.
The Philistine army and the Israeli army stood [on the hillsides], facing each other, ready for the battle.
22 Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.
David gave the food to the man who was taking care of the war equipment. [He told him to take care of the food that he brought], and then he went and greeted his older brothers.
23 And as he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistines and shouted his usual words, which David also heard.
While he was talking with them, he saw Goliath coming out from among the Philistine soldiers, shouting [to the Israelis], challenging them [to send a man to fight him]. David heard what Goliath was saying.
24 When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear.
When all the Israeli soldiers saw Goliath, they were terrified and started to ran away.
25 Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxation in Israel.”
They were saying to each other, “Look at him coming up toward us! And listen to him as he defies us Israelis! The king says that he will give a big reward to whoever kills this man. He also says that he will give his daughter to that man for him to marry her, and that he will no longer require that man’s family to pay taxes.”
26 David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
David talked to some of the men who were standing near him. He said, “What will be given to whoever kills this Philistine and frees us Israelis from this shame/disgrace? And who [does] this heathen Philistine [think he] is, defying/ridiculing the army that serves the all-powerful God?”
27 The people told him about the offer, saying, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
They told him the same thing that the other men had said, about what the king would do for anyone who killed Goliath.
28 Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!”
But when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking to the men, he was angry. He said to David, “Why have you come down here? Is someone taking care of those few sheep that you left in the desert? I know you are just a (smart-aleck/brat)! You just want to watch the battle!”
29 “What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?”
David replied, “Have I done something wrong? I was merely asking a question!”
30 Then he turned from him toward another and asked about the offer, and those people answered him just as the first ones had answered.
Then he walked over to another man and asked him the same question, but the man gave him the same answer. Each time he asked someone, he received the same answer.
31 Now David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, who called for him.
Finally, someone told king Saul what David had asked, and Saul sent someone to bring David to him.
32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!”
David told king Saul, “No one should (worry/become a coward) because of that Philistine man. I will go and fight with him!”
33 But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
Saul said to David, “You are only a young man, and he has been a very capable soldier all his life. So you are not able to go and fight with him!”
34 David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,
David replied, “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep [for many years]. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried away a lamb,
35 I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.
I went after the lion or the bear and attacked it and rescued the lamb from the wild animal’s mouth. Then I grabbed the animal by its jaw/throat and struck it and killed 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.”
I have killed both lions and bears. And [I will do] the same to this heathen Philistine, because he has defied/ridiculed the army of the all-powerful God!
37 David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”
Yahweh has rescued me from paws of lions and bears, and he will rescue me from this Philistine!” Then Saul said to David, “All right, go [and fight him], and [I hope/desire] that Yahweh will help you!”
38 Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.
Then Saul gave to David his own clothes that he always wore in battles, and he gave him a bronze helmet and a coat made of metal plates.
39 David strapped his sword over the tunic and tried to walk, but he was not accustomed to them. “I cannot walk in these,” David said to Saul. “I am not accustomed to them.” So David took them off.
David [put these things on. Then he] fastened his sword over them, and tried to walk. But he could not walk, because he was not accustomed to wearing those things. So David said to Saul, “I cannot fight wearing all these things, because I am not accustomed to [wearing] them!” So he took them off.
40 And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.
Then he took his walking/shepherd’s stick, and he picked up five smooth stones from the brook/stream. He put them in the pouch of his shoulder-bag. Then he put his sling in his hand and started walking toward Goliath.
41 Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him.
Goliath walked toward David, with the soldier who was carrying his shield walking in front of him. When he got near David,
42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
he looked at David closely. He saw that David had a handsome face and healthy body, but that he was only a young man. So he sneered at David.
43 “Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
He said to David, “Are you coming to me with a stick because [you think that] I am a dog?” Then he called out to his gods to harm David.
44 “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
He said to David, “Come here to me, and I will [kill you and] give your dead body to the birds and wild animals to eat!”
45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
David replied, “You are coming to me with a sword and a dagger and a spear. But I am coming to you (in the name/with the authority) of almighty Yahweh. He is the God whom the army of Israel [worships], and he is the God whom you have defied/ridiculed.
46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
Today Yahweh will enable me to defeat you. I will strike you down and cut off your head. And [we Israelis will kill] many Philistine [soldiers and] give their bodies to the birds and wild animals to eat. And everyone in the world will [hear about it and] know that we Israeli people worship an [all-powerful] God.
47 And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
And everyone here will know that Yahweh can rescue people without a sword or a spear. Yahweh always wins his battles, and he will enable us to defeat all of you [Philistines].”
48 As the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
As Goliath came closer to attack David, David ran quickly toward him.
49 Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
He put his hand into his shoulder-bag and took out one stone. He [put it in his sling and] hurled it toward Goliath. The stone hit Goliath on the forehead and penetrated his skull, and he fell face down onto the ground.
50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
Then David ran and stood over Goliath. He pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath and killed him with it, and then cut off his head. In that way David defeated the Philistine without having his own sword. He used [only] a sling and a stone! When the other Philistines saw that their great warrior was dead, they ran away.
51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him; and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. And the bodies of the Philistines were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.
The Israeli men shouted and ran after them. They pursued them all the way to Gath and to the gates of Ekron [city]. They struck them as they went, with the result that dead/wounded Philistines were lying on the road all the way from Shaaraim to Gath and Ekron [towns].
53 When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.
When the Israelis returned from chasing the Philistines, they (plundered/took everything from) the Philistine camp.
54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
David later took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”
As Saul watched David going toward Goliath, he said to Abner, the commanded of his army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “(As sure as you are alive/Truly) [IDM], I do not know.”
56 “Find out whose son this young man is!” said the king.
Then the king said, “Find out whose son he is!”
57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine, still holding his head in his hand, Abner took him and brought him before Saul.
[Later, ] as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner took him to Saul. David was carrying Goliath’s head.
58 “Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.
Saul asked him, “Young man, whose son are you?” David replied, “[Sir, perhaps you have forgotten that] I am the son of your servant Jesse, who has served you faithfully, who lives in Bethlehem.”
