Goliath Challenges Israel

1Now the Philistines gathered their camps for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2But Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Philistines. 3Now the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4Then a champion came out from the camps of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was [†]six cubits and a [†]span. 5And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, and the weight of that scale-armor was five thousand [†]shekels of bronze. 6He also had bronze [†]greaves on his legs and a bronze [†]javelin slung between his shoulders. 7And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8And he stood and called out to the [†]battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to arrange yourselves for battle? Am I not the Philistine and you slaves of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, then we will become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you shall become our slaves and serve us.” 10Again the Philistine said, “I openly [†]reproach the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12Now David was the son of [†]the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And [†]Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13And the three older sons of Jesse had gone. They had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14But David was the youngest. Now the three oldest had gone after Saul, 15but David went back and forth from Saul to shepherd his father’s flock at Bethlehem.

16Then the Philistine approached, morning and evening, for forty days and took his stand.

17Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18You shall also bring these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back [†]a token from them. 19And Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”

20So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and carried the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the military force was going out in battle lines shouting the war cry. 21And Israel and the Philistines arranged themselves in battle lines, battle line [†]against battle line. 22Then David left his baggage in the [†]care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them.

24Now all the men of Israel saw the man, and they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to [†]reproach Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who strikes him down with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house [†]free in Israel.”

26Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should [†]reproach the battle lines of the living God?” 27And the people spoke to him in accord with this word, saying, “Thus it will be done for the man who strikes him down.”

28Then Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your arrogance and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a word?” 30Then he turned [†]away from him to another and said the same word; and the people responded to him with the same word as [†]before.

David Puts Goliath to Death

31Then the words which David spoke were heard. And they told them [†]to Saul, and he sent for him. 32And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep. And a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock, 35and I would go out after it and strike it and rescue the lamb from its mouth. Then it rose up against me, and I would seize it by its beard and strike it down and put it to death. 36Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has [†]reproached the battle lines of the living God.” 37And David said, “Yahweh, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may Yahweh be with you.” 38Then Saul clothed David with his robes and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them [†]off. 40Then he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

41Then the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42And the Philistine looked and saw David. And he despised him; for he was but a youth and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have [†]reproached. 46This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

48Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49And David sent his hand down into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

50Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and put him to death; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and put him to death and cut off his head with it. Then the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, so they fled. 52But the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines [†]as far as the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay fallen along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53Then the sons of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

55Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56And the king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” 57So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”