Kings I 17
1 And the Philistines gather their armies to battle, and gather themselves to Socchoth of Judaea, and encamp between Socchoth and Azeca Ephermen.
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
2 And Saul and the men of Israel gather together, and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.
3 And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them.
The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them.
4 And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath, by name, out of Geth, his height [was] four cubits and a span.
Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
5 And [he had] a helmet upon his head, and he wore a breastplate of chain armour; and the weight of his breastplate [was] five thousand shekels of brass and iron.
and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels,
6 And greaves of grass [were] upon his legs, and a brazen target [was] between his shoulders.
and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear [was] like a weaver's beam, and the spear's head [was formed] of six hundred shekels of iron; and his armour-bearer went before him.
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.
8 And he stood and cried to the army of Israel, and said to them, Why are you come forth to set yourselves in battle array against us? Am not I a Philistine, and you Hebrews of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.
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.
9 And if he shall be able to fight against me, and shall strike me, then will we be your servants: but if I should prevail and strike him, you shall be our servants, and serve us.
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.”
10 And the Philistine said, Behold, I have defied the armies of Israel this very day: give me a man, and we will both of us fight in single combat.
Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed, and greatly terrified.
On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 [And David son of an Ephrathite said, this Eplarathite was of Bethleem Juda, and his name was Jessae, and he had eight sons. And the man passed for an old man amongst men in the days of Saul. ]
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.
13 [And the three elder sons of Jessae went and followed Saul to the war, and the ] [names of his sons that went to the war were, Eliab his first-born, and his second Aminadab, and his third son Samma. ]
The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
14 [And David himself ] [was the younger son, and the three elder followed Saul. ]
And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,
15 [And David departed and returned from Saul, ] [to feed his father’s sheep in Bethleem; ]
but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
16 [And the Philistine advanced morning and evening, and stood up forty days. ]
For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening to take his stand.
17 [And Jessae said to David, Take now to your brethren an ephah of this meal, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp and give them to your brothers. ]
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.
18 [And you shall carry to the captain of the thousand ] [these ten cheeses of milk, and you shall see how your brethren fare, and learn what they lack. ]
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.
19 [And Saul himself and all the men of Israel were in the valley of the Oak, warring with the Philistines. ]
They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 [And David rose early in the morning, and left the sheep to a keeper, and took and went as Jessae commanded him, and he came to the trench and to the army as it was going out to fight, and they shouted for the battle. ]
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.
21 [And Israel and the Philistines formed their lines one opposite the other. ]
And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other.
22 [And David deposited his burden in the hand of a keeper, and ran to the line, and went and asked his brethren how they Were. ]
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.
23 [And while he was speaking with them, behold the Amessaean advanced, Goliath by name, the Philistine of Geth, of the armies of the Philistines, and he spoke ] [as before, and David heard. ]
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.
24 [And all the men of Israel when they saw the man fled from before him, and they were greatly terrified. ]
When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear.
25 [And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man that comes up? for he has reproached Israel and has come up; and it shall be that the man who shall strike him, the king shall enrich him with great wealth and shall give him his daughter, and shall make his father’s house free in Israel. ]
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.”
26 [and David spoke to the men who stood with him saying, Shall it indeed be done thus to the man who shall strike that Philistine, and take away reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has defied the army of the living God? ]
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?”
27 [And the people spoke to him according to this Word, saying Thus shall it be done to the man Who shall strike him. ]
The people told him about the offer, saying, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 [And Eliab his elder brother heard as he spoke to the men, and Eliab was very angry with David and said, Why have you thus come down, and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the naughtiness of your heart, for you are come down to see the battle. ]
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!”
29 [And David said what have I done now? ] [Have I no business here? ]
“What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?”
30 [And he turned from him towards another, and he spoke after the same manner; and the people answered him ] [after the former manner. ]
Then he turned from him toward another and asked about the offer, and those people answered him just as the first ones had answered.
31 [And the Words which David spoke were heard and were reported ] [to Saul. And he took him to himself. ]
Now David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, who called for him.
32 And David said to Saul, Let not, I pray you, the heart of my lord be dejected within him: your servant will go, and fight with this Philistine.
And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!”
33 And Saul said to David, You will not in anyway be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a mere youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
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.”
34 And David said to Saul, Your servant was tending the flock for his father; and when a lion came and a she-bear, and took a sheep out of the flock,
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,
35 then I went forth after him, and struck him, and drew [the spoil] out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I caught hold of his throat, and struck him, and killed him.
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.
36 Your servant struck both the lion and the bear, and the uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them: shall I not go and strike him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? For who [is] this uncircumcised one, who has defied the army of the living God?
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 The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord shall be with you.
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.”
38 And Saul clothed David with a military coat, and [put] his brazen helmet on his head.
Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.
39 And he girded David with his sword over his coat: and he made trial walking [with them] once and again: and David said to Saul, I shall not be able to go with these, for I have not proved [them]: so they remove them from him.
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.
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's scrip which he had for his store, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
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.
41 And the Philistine advanced and drew near to David, and a man bearing his shield went before him, and the Philistine looked on.
Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him.
42 And Goliath saw David, and despised him; for he was a lad, and ruddy, with a fair countenance.
When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I as a dog, that you come against me with a staff and stones? [and David said, Nay, but worse than a dog.] And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth.
“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 And David said to the Philistine, You come to me with sword, and with spear, and with shield; but I come to you in the name of the Lord God of hosts of the army of Israel, which you have defied
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.
46 this day. And the Lord shall deliver you this day into my hand; and I will kill you, and take away your head from off you, and will give your limbs and the limbs of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.
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.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord delivers not by sword or spear, for the battle [is] the Lord's, and the Lord will deliver you into our hands.
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.”
48 And the Philistine arose and went to meet David.
As the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
49 And David stretched out his hand to his scrip, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground.
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.
50 [So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in the hand of David. ]
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.
51 And David ran, and stood upon him, and took his sword, and killed him, and cut off his head: and the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and they fled.
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 And the men of Israel and Juda arose, and shouted and pursued them as far as the entrance to Geth, and as far as the gate of Ascalon: and the slain men of the Philistines fell in the way of the gates, both to Geth, and to Accaron.
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.
53 And the men of Israel returned from pursuing after the Philistines, and they destroyed their camp.
When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 And when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abener the captain of the host, Whose son is this youth? and Abener said, As your sould lives, O King, I know not.
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.”
56 And the king said, Do you ask whose son this youth is.
“Find out whose son this young man is!” said the king.
57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abener took him and brought him before Saul, and the head of the Philistine was in his hand.
So when David returned from killing the Philistine, still holding his head in his hand, Abner took him and brought him before Saul.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? and David said, The son of your servant Jessae the Bethleemite.
“Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.
