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.
The Philistine armies gathered for battle at Socoh in Judah. They set up camp 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.
Saul and the Israelites gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah and took up their positions to engage in battle with 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 on one hill and the Israelites on another with the 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.
Then a champion came out of the Philistine camp. His name was Goliath from Gath, and he was six cubits and a span 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.).
He had on his head a bronze helmet and he wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels.
6 He wore bronze guards/protectors on his legs. He had a long bronze dagger fastened on his back.
On his legs he wore bronze armor, and he carried a javelin slung between his shoulders.
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 shaft of his spear was as thick as weaver's beam, with an iron tip that weighed six hundred shekels. His shield-bearer walked ahead of him carrying his shield.
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!
Goliath stood and shouted at the lines of Israelite soldiers, “Why have you come and lined for battle? I am the Philistine, and you're Saul's servants. Pick one of your men and have him come down and fight 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 can fight me and kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I beat him and kill him, then you'll be our slaves and work for us.”
10 I defy/challenge you men of the Israeli army. Send me a man who will fight with me!”
Then the Philistine said, “I mock the battle lines of Israel today! Give me a man so we can fight each other!”
11 When Saul and all the Israeli soldiers heard that, they were extremely terrified [DOU].
Saul and all the Israelite soldiers were shattered and absolutely terrified when they heard what the Philistine said.
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].
David was the son of a man named Jesse. He was an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons. At the time Saul was king, Jesse was very old.
13 Jesse’s three oldest sons, Eliab and Abinadab and Shammah, had gone with Saul to fight [the Philistines].
Jesse's three oldest sons had joined Saul's army war. These were Eliab (the firstborn), Abinadab (second), and Shammah (third).
14 David was Jesse’s youngest son. While his three oldest brothers were with Saul,
David was the youngest. The three oldest were with Saul,
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.
while David went to Saul and then back again to look after his father's sheep.
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.
Every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine came out to take his stand.
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.
Jesse told his son David, “Please take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers. Take them quickly to your brothers' camp.
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.”
Take these ten cheese pieces to their commander. Check carefully to see how your brothers are doing and bring back their news.”
19 His brothers were with Saul and all the other Israeli soldiers, camped alongside Elah Valley, [preparing to] fight the Philistines.
They were with Saul and the whole Israelite army in the Valley of Elah, fighting 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.
David got up early in the morning and left the flock with a shepherd. He took the supplies and set out as Jesse had told him to. He arrived at the camp just as the army was marching out to its battle line, shouting the war cry.
21 The Philistine army and the Israeli army stood [on the hillsides], facing each other, ready for the battle.
The Israelites took up their battle line and the Philistines took up their battle line on the opposite side.
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.
David left his supplies with the one responsible and ran to the battle line. When he got there he asked his brothers how they were.
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.
While he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came up out of his lines and shouted his challenge as he had before, and David heard what he said.
24 When all the Israeli soldiers saw Goliath, they were terrified and started to ran away.
All the Israelite soldiers ran away when they saw him because they were terribly afraid.
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.”
“Have you seen this man who keeps on coming out to mock Israel?” they asked. “The king will make the man who kills him really rich. He will also give him his daughter in marriage, and his family will live tax-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?”
David asked the men who were standing beside him, “What will the man receive who kills this Philistine and removes this shame from Israel? Who does this heathen Philistine think he is, mocking 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.
The soldiers repeated what they had said, telling him, “This is what the man who kills him will receive.”
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!”
When David's oldest brother Eliab heard him talking with the men, he got angry with him. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Who have you left those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know how proud and wicked you are! You've just come to watch the battle!”
29 David replied, “Have I done something wrong? I was merely asking a question!”
“What have I done now?” David asked. “Can't I even ask a question?”
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.
He went over to some others and asked the same question, and they gave the same answer as before.
31 Finally, someone told king Saul what David had asked, and Saul sent someone to bring David to him.
Someone overheard what David said and reported it to Saul who 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!”
David told Saul, “No one should lose heart because of this Philistine. I, your servant, will go and fight him!”
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!”
“You can't go out and fight this Philistine,” Saul replied. “You're just a boy, and he's a warrior trained from his youth.”
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,
David replied, “Your servant has been looking after his father's sheep. When 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 would chase after it, knock it down, and save the lamb from its mouth. If it turned to attack me, I would grab its hair, hit it, and kill it.
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!
I have killed lions and bears, and this heathen Philistine will be just like one of them, for he has mocked 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!”
David concluded, “The Lord who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine.” “Go, and may the Lord be with you,” Saul responded.
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.
Saul gave David his own battle clothes to wear, placed a bronze helmet on his head, and put armor on him.
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.
David strapped his sword on over the armor but he couldn't walk because he wasn't used to it. “I can't walk in all this,” David told Saul. “I ‘m not used to it.” So David took all the armor 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.
He picked up his stick, chose five smooth stones from the stream, and put them in his shepherd's bag. Carrying his sling in his hand, he approached 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,
The Philistine came towards David, closer and closer, with his shield-bearer in front of 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.
When the Philistine looked closely he could see that David was just a red-faced handsome youth, and so he treated David with contempt.
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.
“Do you think I'm a dog, coming to fight me with a stick?” the Philistine asked David, and he cursed David by 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!”
Then the Philistine shouted at David, “Come over here, and I'll feed your flesh to the birds and the wild animals.”
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.
David replied to the Philistine, “You come to attack me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin. But I come to attack you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel—the one you have mocked.
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.
Today the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the dead bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and the wild animals. Then all the world will know that there is a God who acts for Israel.
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].”
Everyone gathered here will realize that the Lord saves, but not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will hand all of you over to us.”
48 As Goliath came closer to attack David, David ran quickly toward him.
As the Philistine moved forward to attack him, David raced toward the battle line to confront him.
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.
David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and fired it from his sling, hitting the Philistine on the forehead. The stone went into his forehead, and he collapsed facedown on the ground.
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.
This is how David defeated the Philistine with just a sling and a stone; with no sword in his hand David knocked the Philistine down and killed him.
David ran and stood over the Philistine. He took the Philistine's sword and pulled it out of its sheath. He killed him and then he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran away.
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].
Then the men of Israel and Judah rushed forward shouting the war-cry and chased the Philistines all the way to Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their bodies were scattered along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelis returned from chasing the Philistines, they (plundered/took everything from) the Philistine camp.
When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.
54 David later took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put the Philistine's weapons in his own 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.”
When Saul had watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he'd asked Abner the army commander, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” “On your life, Your Majesty, I do not know,” Abner replied.
56 Then the king said, “Find out whose son he is!”
“Find out whose son this young man is,” the king ordered.
57 [Later, ] as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner took him to Saul. David was carrying Goliath’s head.
As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. David was still clutching the Philistine's head 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.”
“Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.
