1 Samuel 17
1 And the Philistines gather their camps to battle, and are gathered to Shochoh, which [is] to Judah, and encamp between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-Dammim;
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 have been gathered, and encamp by the Valley of Elah, and set in array [for] battle to meet 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 are standing on the mountain on this [side], and Israel is standing on the mountain on that [side], and the valley [is] between them.
The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them.
4 And a man goes out, the champion from the camps of the Philistines, his name [is] Goliath, from Gath; his height [is] six cubits and a span [[or 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 a helmet of bronze [is] on his head, and he is clothed [with] a scaled coat of mail, and the weight of the coat of mail [is] five thousand shekels of bronze,
and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels,
6 and a frontlet of bronze [is] on his feet, and a javelin of bronze between his shoulders,
and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
7 and the wood of his spear [is] like a weavers’ beam, and the flame of his spear [is] six hundred shekels of iron, and the bearer of the buckler is going 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 stands and calls to the ranks of Israel, and says to them, “Why do you come out to set in array for battle? [Am] I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, 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 if he is able to fight with me, and has struck me, then we have been for servants to you; and if I prevail against him, and have struck him, then you have been for servants to us, and have served 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 says, “I have reproached the ranks of Israel this day; give a man to me and we fight together!”
Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
11 And Saul hears—and all Israel—these words of the Philistine, and they are broken down and greatly afraid.
On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 And David [is] son of this Ephraimite of Beth-Lehem-Judah, whose name [is] Jesse, and he has eight sons, and the man has become aged among 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 eldest sons of Jesse go, they have gone after Saul to battle; and the name of his three sons who have gone into battle [are] Eliab the firstborn, and his second Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
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 is the youngest, and the three eldest have gone after Saul,
And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,
15 and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem.
but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
16 And the Philistine draws near, morning and evening, and stations himself [for] forty days.
For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening to take his stand.
17 And Jesse says to his son David, “Now take an ephah of this roasted [grain] and these ten loaves for your brothers, and run to the camp 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 take these ten cuttings of the cheese to the head of the one thousand, and inspect your brothers for welfare, and receive their pledge.”
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, and they, and all the men of Israel, [are] in the Valley of Elah, fighting 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 rises early in the morning, and leaves the flock to a keeper, and lifts up, and goes, as Jesse commanded him, and he comes to the path, and to the force which is going out to the rank, and they have shouted for 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 set in array rank to meet rank.
And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other.
22 And David lets down the goods from off him on the hand of a keeper of the goods, and runs into the rank, and comes and asks of his brothers of [their] welfare.
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 he is speaking with them, and behold, a man, the champion, is coming up, his name [is] Goliath the Philistine, from Gath, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he speaks according to those words, and David hears;
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 see the man, flee from his presence, and are greatly afraid.
When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear.
25 And the men of Israel say, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? For he is coming up to reproach Israel, and it has been—the man who strikes him, the king enriches him with great riches, and he gives his daughter to him, and makes 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 speaks to the men who are standing by him, saying, “What is done to the man who strikes this Philistine, and has turned aside reproach from Israel? For who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine that he has reproached the ranks 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 speak to him according to this word, saying, “Thus it is done to the man who strikes 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 eldest brother, hears when he speaks to the men, and the anger of Eliab burns against David, and he says, “Why [is] this—[that] you have come down? And to whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I have known your pride, and the evil of your heart—for you have 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 says, “What have I done now? Is it not a word?”
“What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?”
30 And he turns around from him to another, and says according to this word, and the people return him word as the first word.
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 has spoken are heard, and they declare [them] before Saul, and he receives him;
Now David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, who called for him.
32 and David says to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fall because of him, your servant goes, and has fought 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 says to David, “You are not able to go to this Philistine, to fight with him, for you [are] a youth, and he [has been] 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 says to Saul, “Your servant has been a shepherd among the sheep for his father, and the lion has come—and the bear—and has taken away a sheep out of the drove,
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 and I have gone out after him, and struck him, and delivered [it] out of his mouth, and he rises against me, and I have taken hold on his beard, and struck him, and put him to death.
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 has struck both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine has been as one of them, for he has reproached the ranks 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 And David says, “YHWH, who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He delivers me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul says to David, “Go, and YHWH is 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 clothes David with his long robe, and has put a helmet of bronze on his head, and clothes him with a coat of mail.
Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.
39 And David girded his sword above his long robe, and begins to go, for he has not tried [it]; and David says to Saul, “I am not able to go with these, for I had not tried”; and David turns them aside from off 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 takes his staff in his hand, and chooses five smooth stones for himself from the brook, and puts them in the shepherds’ vessel that he has, even in the leather pouch, and his sling [is] in his hand, and he draws near to 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 goes on, going and drawing near to David, and the man carrying the buckler [is] before him,
Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him.
42 and the Philistine looks attentively, and sees David, and despises him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance.
When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
43 And the Philistine says to David, “Am I a dog that you are coming to me with sticks?” And the Philistine reviles 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 says to David, “Come to me, and I give your flesh to the bird of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.”
“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 says to the Philistine, “You are coming to me with sword, and with spear, and with buckler, and I am coming to you in the Name of YHWH of Hosts, God of the ranks of Israel, which you have reproached!
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 YHWH shuts you up into my hand—and I have struck you, and turned aside your head from off you, and given the carcass of the camp of the Philistines this day to the bird of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and all the earth knows that God is for 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 knows that YHWH does not save by sword and by spear, for the battle [is] YHWH’s, and He has given you into our hand.”
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 it has come to pass, that the Philistine has risen, and goes, and draws near to meet David, and David hurries and runs to the rank to meet the Philistine,
As the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
49 and David puts forth his hand into the vessel, and takes a stone from there, and slings, and strikes the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sinks into his forehead, and he falls on his face to the earth.
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 And David is stronger than the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and strikes the Philistine, and puts him to death, and there is 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 runs and stands over the Philistine, and takes his sword, and draws it out of its sheath, and puts him to death, and cuts off his head with it; and the Philistines see that their hero [is] dead, and flee.
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 rise—also Judah—and shout, and pursue the Philistines until you enter the valley, and to the gates of Ekron, and the wounded of the Philistines fall in the way of Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron,
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 sons of Israel return from burning after the Philistines, and spoil their camps.
When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.
54 And David takes the head of the Philistine, and brings it to Jerusalem, and he has put his weapons in his own 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 sees David going out to meet the Philistine, he has said to Abner, head of the host, “Whose son [is] this—the youth, Abner?” And Abner says, “Your soul lives, O king, I have not known.”
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 says, “Ask whose son this [is]—the young man.”
“Find out whose son this young man is!” said the king.
57 And when David turns back from striking the Philistine, then Abner takes him and brings him in before Saul, and the head of the Philistine [is] 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 says to him, “Whose son [are] you, O youth?” And David says, “Son of your servant Jesse, the Beth-Lehemite.”
“Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.
