| New International Version | King James Bible |
| 1Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. | 1Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. |
| 2Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. | 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. |
| 3The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. | 3And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. |
| 4A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. | 4And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. |
| 5He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; | 5And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. |
| 6on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. | 6And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. |
| 7His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. | 7And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. |
| 8Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. | 8And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. |
| 9If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." | 9If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. |
| 10Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." | 10And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. |
| 11On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. | 11When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. |
| 12Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was very old. | 12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. |
| 13Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. | 13And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. |
| 14David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, | 14And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. |
| 15but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem. | 15But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. |
| 16For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. | 16And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. |
| 17Now 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. | 17And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; |
| 18Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. | 18And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. |
| 19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines." | 19Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. |
| 20Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. | 20And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. |
| 21Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. | 21For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. |
| 22David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. | 22And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. |
| 23As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. | 23And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. |
| 24Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. | 24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. |
| 25Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel." | 25And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. |
| 26David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" | 26And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? |
| 27They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him." | 27And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. |
| 28When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." | 28And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. |
| 29"Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" | 29And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? |
| 30He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. | 30And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. |
| 31What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. | 31And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. |
| 32David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." | 32And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. |
| 33Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth." | 33And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. |
| 34But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, | 34And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: |
| 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. | 35And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. |
| 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. | 36Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. |
| 37The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." | 37David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. |
| 38Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. | 38And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. |
| 39David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. | 39And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. |
| 40Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. | 40And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. |
| 41Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. | 41And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. |
| 42He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. | 42And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. |
| 43He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. | 43And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. |
| 44"Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!" | 44And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. |
| 45David 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 Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. | 45Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. |
| 46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. | 46This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. |
| 47All those gathered 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." | 47And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands. |
| 48As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. | 48And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. |
| 49Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. | 49And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. |
| 50So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. | 50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. |
| 51David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. | 51Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. |
| 52Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. | 52And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. |
| 53When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. | 53And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. |
| 54David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent. | 54And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. |
| 55As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don't know." | 55And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. |
| 56The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is." | 56And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. |
| 57As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head. | 57And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. |
| 58"Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem." | 58And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. |
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