1 Samuel 17
1 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.
Now the Philistines got their armies together for war, and came together at Socoh in the land of Judah, and took up their position between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
2 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.
And Saul and the men of Israel came together and took up their position in the valley of Elah, and put their forces in order against the Philistines.
3 So the Philistine and Israeli armies faced each other. They were on two hills, with a valley between them.
The Philistines were stationed on the mountain on one side and Israel on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 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.
And a fighter came out from the tents of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath; he was more than six cubits tall.
5 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.).
And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 He wore bronze guards/protectors on his legs. He had a long bronze dagger fastened on his back.
His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass.
7 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.
The stem of his spear was as long as a cloth-worker's rod, and its head was made of six hundred shekels' weight of iron: and one went before him with his body-cover.
8 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!
He took up his position and in a loud voice said to the armies of Israel, Why have you come out to make war? Am I not a Philistine and you servants of Saul? Send out a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.
9 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.
If he is able to have a fight with me and overcome me, then we will be your servants: but if I am able to overcome him, then you will be our servants and do work for us.
10 I defy/challenge you men of the Israeli army. Send me a man who will fight with me!”
And the Philistine said, I have put to shame the armies of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may have a fight together.
11 When Saul and all the Israeli soldiers heard that, they were extremely terrified [DOU].
And Saul and all Israel, hearing those words of the Philistine, were troubled and full of fear.
12 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].
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah named Jesse, who had eight sons; and he was an old man in Saul's day, and far on in years.
13 Jesse’s three oldest sons, Eliab and Abinadab and Shammah, had gone with Saul to fight [the Philistines].
And the three oldest sons of Jesse had gone with Saul to the fight: the names of the three who went to the fight were Eliab, the oldest, and Abinadab the second, and Shammah the third.
14 David was Jesse’s youngest son. While his three oldest brothers were with Saul,
And David was the youngest: and the three oldest were with Saul's army.
15 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.
Now David went to and from Saul, looking after his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.
16 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.
And the Philistine came near every morning and evening for forty days.
17 [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.
And Jesse said to his son David, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dry grain and these ten cakes of bread, and go quickly with them to the tents to your brothers;
18 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.”
And take these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are and come back with a sign to say how they are.
19 His brothers were with Saul and all the other Israeli soldiers, camped alongside Elah Valley, [preparing to] fight the Philistines.
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 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.
And David got up early in the morning, and, giving the sheep into the care of a keeper, took the things and went as Jesse had said; and he came to the lines where the carts were, when the army was going out to the fight giving their war-cry.
21 The Philistine army and the Israeli army stood [on the hillsides], facing each other, ready for the battle.
And Israel and the Philistines had put their forces in position, army against army.
22 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.
And David gave his parcels into the hands of the keeper of the army stores, and went running to the army and came to his brothers to get knowledge about them.
23 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.
And while he was talking to them, the fighter, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came out from the Philistines' lines and said the same words, in David's hearing.
24 When all the Israeli soldiers saw Goliath, they were terrified and started to ran away.
And all the men of Israel, when they saw him, went in flight, overcome with fear.
25 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.”
And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man? Clearly he has come out to put shame on Israel: and it is certain that if any man overcomes him, the king will give that man great wealth, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's family free in Israel.
26 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?”
And David said to the men near him, What will be done to the man who overcomes this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? for who is this Philistine, a man without circumcision, that he has put shame on the armies of the living God?
27 They told him the same thing that the other men had said, about what the king would do for anyone who killed Goliath.
And the people gave him this answer, So it will be done to the man who overcomes him.
28 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!”
And Eliab, his oldest brother, hearing what David said to the men, was moved to wrath against David, and said, Why have you come here? Into whose care have you given that little flock of sheep in the waste land? I have knowledge of your pride and the evil of your heart, you have come down to see the fight.
29 David replied, “Have I done something wrong? I was merely asking a question!”
And David said, What have I done now? was it not only a word?
30 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.
And turning away from him to one of the other men, he said the same words: and the people gave him the same answer.
31 Finally, someone told king Saul what David had asked, and Saul sent someone to bring David to him.
And, hearing what David said, they gave Saul word of it: and he sent for him.
32 David told king Saul, “No one should (worry/become a coward) because of that Philistine man. I will go and fight with him!”
And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart become feeble because of him; I, your servant, will go out and have a fight with this Philistine.
33 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!”
And Saul said to David, You are not able to go out against this Philistine and have a fight with him: for you are only a boy, and he has been a man of war from his earliest days.
34 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,
And David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeper of his father's sheep; and if a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,
35 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.
I went out after him, and overcame him, and took it out of his mouth: and if, turning on me, he came at me, I took him by the hair and overcame him and put him to death.
36 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!
Your servant has overcome lion and bear: and the fate of this Philistine, who is without circumcision, will be like theirs, seeing that he has put shame on the armies of the living God.
37 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!”
And David said, The Lord, who kept me safe from the grip of the lion and the bear, will be my saviour from the hands of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go! and may the Lord be with you.
38 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.
Then Saul gave David his clothing of war, and put a head-dress of brass on his head and had him clothed with a coat of metal.
39 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.
And David took Saul's sword and put the band round him over the metal coat, and was unable to go forward; for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, It is not possible for me to go out with these, for I am not used to them. So David took them off.
40 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.
Then he took his stick in his hand, and got five smooth stones from the bed of the stream and put them in a bag such as is used by sheep-keepers; and in his hand was a leather band used for sending stones: and so he went in the direction of the Philistine.
41 Goliath walked toward David, with the soldier who was carrying his shield walking in front of him. When he got near David,
And the Philistine came nearer to David; and the man who had his body-cover went before him.
42 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.
And when the Philistine, taking note, saw David, he had a poor opinion of him: for he was only a boy, red-haired and good-looking.
43 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.
And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come out to me with sticks? And the Philistine put curses on David by all his gods.
44 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!”
And the Philistine said to David, Come here to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.
45 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.
Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin: but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel on which you have put shame.
46 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.
This day the Lord will give you up into my hands, and I will overcome you, and take your head off you; and I will give the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth today, so that all the earth may see that Israel has a God;
47 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].”
And all these people who are here today may see that the Lord does not give salvation by sword and spear: for the fight is the Lord's, and he will give you up into our hands.
48 As Goliath came closer to attack David, David ran quickly toward him.
Now when the Philistine made a move and came near to David, David quickly went at a run in the direction of the army, meeting the Philistine face to face.
49 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.
And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and sent it from his leather band straight at the Philistine, and the stone went deep into his brow, and he went down to the earth, falling on his face.
50 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.
So David overcame the Philistine with his leather band and a stone, wounding the Philistine and causing his death: but David had no sword in his hand.
So running up to the Philistine and putting his foot on him, David took his sword out of its cover, and put him to death, cutting off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their fighter was dead, they went in flight.
52 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].
And the men of Israel and of Judah got up, and gave a cry, and went after the Philistines as far as Gath and the town doors of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines were falling down by the road from Shaaraim all the way to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelis returned from chasing the Philistines, they (plundered/took everything from) the Philistine camp.
Then the children of Israel came back from going after the Philistines, and took their goods from the tents.
54 David later took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
And David took the head of the Philistine to Jerusalem, but the metal war-dress and the arms he put in his tent.
55 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.”
And when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, On your life, O king, I have no idea.
56 Then the king said, “Find out whose son he is!”
And the king said, Make search and see whose son this young man is.
57 [Later, ] as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner took him to Saul. David was carrying Goliath’s head.
And when David was coming back after the destruction of the Philistine, Abner took him to Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 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.”
And Saul said to him, Young man, whose son are you? And David in answer said, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Beth-lehem.
