Goliath’s Challenge

1The Philistynes gathered their hoost to ye battayl, and came together to Socho in Iuda, & pitched their tentes betwene Socho & Aseka, at the ende of Damin. 2But Saul & the me of Israel came together, & pitched in the Oke valley, & prepared them selues to the battayll agaynst the Philistynes. 3And the Philistynes stode vpon a hyll on the one syde, and the Israelites vpon a hyll on the other syde, so that there was a valley betwene them. 4Then stepte there forth from amoge the Philistynes a stoute bolde man, named Goliath of Gath, sixe cubites and an hande breth hye, 5and had an helmet of stele on his heade, and a fast habergion vpon him, and the weight of his habergion was fyue thousande Sicles of stele, 6and harnesse of stele had he vpon his legges, and a shylde of stele vpon his shulders: 7and the shaft of his speare was like a weuers lome, and the yron of his speare had sixe hundreth Sicles of yron, and his wapen bearer wente before him. 8And he stode and called vnto the hoost of Israel, and sayde vnto them: Wherfore are ye come forth to prepare youre selues to the battayll? Am not I a Philistyne, and ye the seruauntes of Saul? Chose one amonge you to come downe vnto me: 9yf he can fighte agaynst me and slaye me, then wil we be youre seruauntes: but yf I can ouercome him and slaye him, then shal ye be oure seruauntes, to do vs seruyce. 10And the Philistyne sayde: I haue spoke disdanedly vnto the hoost of Israel this daye. Geue me one, and let vs fighte together. 11Whan Saul and all Israel herde these wordes of ye Philistyne, they were astonnyed, and sore afrayed.

David Accepts the Challenge

12But Dauid was the sonne of a man of Ephrata of Bethleem Iuda, whose name was Isai, which had eight sonnes, and was an olde man in Sauls tyme, and was well strycken in age amonge men. 13And the thre eldest sonnes of Isai were gone with Saul to the battayll. And there names were these: Eliab the first borne, Abinadab the seconde, and Samma the thirde. 14But Dauid was the yongest of all. So whan the thre eldest were gone with Saul to the battayll, 15Dauid wente agayne from Saul, to kepe his fathers shepe at Bethleem. 16But the Philistyne stepte forth early in the mornynge and at euen, and stode there fortye dayes.

17Isai sayde vnto Dauid his sonne: Take this Epha of firmentye for thy brethren, and these ten loaues of bred (and runne to the hoost vnto thy brethren) 18& these ten new cheses, and brynge them to ye captayne, and loke how thy brethren do, whether it go well with them or no, and take what they byd the. 19But Saul and they, and all the men of Israel were in the Oke valley, and foughte agaynst the Philistynes.

20Then Dauid gat him vp early in the mornynge, and commytted the shepe to ye keper, and toke his burthen, wente his waye, as Isai commaunded him, and came to the tet. And the hoost was gone forth, and had prepared them selues, and cried in the battayl: 21For Israel had set them selues in araye, and the Philistynes were agaynst their hoost in their araye also. 22Then lefte Dauid the vessell that he bare, with the keper of the stuffe, and ranne to the hoost, and wente in, and saluted his brethren. 23And whyle he was yet talkynge with them, beholde, then came vp the stoute bolde man, whose name was Goliath, the Philistine of Gath, out of the Philistynes hoost, and spake like as afore, and Dauid herde it.

24But euery man of Israel, whan he sawe the man, fled from him, and was sore afrayed of him. 25And euery man in Israel sayde: Haue ye sene the man commynge vp hither? For he is come vp hither, to speake disdanedly vnto Israel. And who so euer smyteth him, him wyll the kynge make ryche, and geue him his doughter, and make his fathers house fre in Israel.

26Then sayde Dauid vnto the men that stode by him: What shalbe done to the man, that smyteth this Philistyne, and turneth this shame awaye from Israel? For what is he this Philistyne this vncircucysed, that defyeth the hoost of ye lyuynge God? 27Then the people tolde him as afore. Thus shall it be done vnto ye man that smyteth him.

28And Eliab his greater brother herde him talke with the men, and was very wroth agaynst Dauid, and sayde: Wherfore art thou come downe? and why hast thou left a fewe shepe in the wyldernesse? I knowe thy presumptuousnesse well ynough, and the wickednesse of thine hert: for thou art come downe to se the battayll. 29Dauid answered: What haue I downe now? Is there not an occasion? 30And he turned him selfe from him vnto another, and spake acordinge as he had sayde before. Then the people answered him like as afore.

31And whan they herde the wordes which Dauid sayde, they tolde them in the presence of Saul, and he caused him be fetched. 32And Dauid sayde vnto Saul: Let no mans hert be discoraged because of him. Thy seruaunt shall go, and fighte with the Philistyne. 33Neuertheles Saul sayde vnto Dauid: Thou art not able to go agaynst this Phylistyne to fighte with him, for thou art but a childe: but this is a man of warre from his youth vp. 34Dauid sayde vnto Saul: Thy seruaunt kepte his fathers shepe, and there came a lyon and a Bere, and caried awaye a shepe from the flocke, 35then wente I forth after him, and smote him, and delyuered it out of his mouth. And whan he wolde haue bene vpon me, I toke him by his beerde, and smote him, and slewe him. 36So thy seruaunt smote both the Lyon and ye Bere. Therfore shall this Philistyne this vncircumcysed be euen as one of them: for he hath defyed the hoost of the lyuynge God. 37And Dauid sayde: The LORDE that delyuered me from ye Lyon and Beer, shall delyuer me also from this Philistyne. And Saul sayde vnto Dauid: Go thy waye, the LORDE be with the.

David Slays Goliath

38And Saul clothed Dauid with his clothes, and set an helmet of stele vpon his heade, and put an habergion vpo him. 39And Dauid girded his swerde aboue his clothes, and beganne to go, for he had neuer bene vsed to it afore. Then sayde Dauid vnto Saul: I can not go thus, for I haue not bene vsed to it, and so he laied it from him, 40and toke his staff in his hande, and chose fyue slighte stones out of the ryuer, and put them in the shepardes bagge which he had by him, and toke a slynge in his hande, and made him to the Philistyne.

41And the Philistyne wente forth, and made him to Dauid, and his wapen bearer before him. 42Now whan the Philistyne loked & sawe Dauid, he thoughte scorne of him: for he was but a childe, well coloured, and beutyfull to loke vpon. 43And the Philistyne sayde vnto Dauid: Am I a dogg then, that thou commest vnto me with a staffe? And he cursed Dauid by his God, 44and sayde vnto Dauid: Come hither to me, I wil geue thy flesh to the foules vnder the heauen, and to the beastes in the felde. 45Neuertheles Dauid sayde vnto the Philistyne: Thou commest vnto me with swerde, speare and shylde. But I come vnto the in the name of the LORDE Zebaoth the God of the hoost of Israel, whom thou hast despysed. 46This daye shall the LORDE delyuer the in to my hade, that I maye smyte the, and take thy heade from the, and geue the bodies of the hoost of the Philistynes this daye vnto the foules vnder the heauen, and to the wylde beestes vpon the earth, that all the londe maye knowe yt Israel hath a God. 47And all this congregacion shal knowe, that the LORDE saueth nether thorow swerde ner speare: for the battayll is the LORDES, & he shal delyuer you in to oure handes.

48Now whan the Philistyne gat him vp, and wente forth and drue nye vnto Dauid, Dauid made haiste, and ranne from ye hoost vnto the Philistyne. 49And Dauid put his hade in his bagg, and toke out a stone, & thrue it with the slynge, and hytt the Philistyne euen in the fore heade, so that the stone stacke in his fore heade, and he fell downe to the grounde vpon his face.

50So Dauid ouercame ye Philistyne with the slynge and with ye stone, and smote him, and slewe him. And for so moch as Dauid had no swerde in his hande, 51he ranne and stode ouer ye Philistyne, and toke his swerde, and drue it out of the sheeth, and slewe him, and smote of his heade withall. Whan the Philistynes sawe that the strongest of them was deed, they fled. 52And the men of Israel and Iuda gat the vp, and cryed and folowed vpon the Philistynes, tyll they came vnto the valley, and to the Portes of Ekron. And the Philistynes fell downe slayne vnto Gath and to Ekron. 53And the children of Israel turned agayne from chasynge of the Philistynes, and spoyled their tentes. 54But Dauid toke the heade of the Philistyne, and broughte it vnto Ierusalem, as for is armoure, he layed it in his tente.

55Whan Saul sawe Dauid go forth agaynst the Philistyne, he saide vnto Abner his chefe captayne: Abner, whose sonne is this childe? Abner sayde: As truly as thy soule lyueth O kynge, I wote not. 56The kynge sayde: Axe the whose sonne the yonge ma is. 57Now whan Dauid came agayne from the slaughter of the Philistyne, Abner toke him, and broughte him before Saul, and he had the Philistynes heade in his hande. 58And Saul sayde vnto him: Whose sonne art thou, thou yonge man? Dauid sayde: I am a sonne of thy seruaunt Isai the Bethleemite.