| New International Version | NET 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. | 1The Philistines gathered their troops for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. |
| 2Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. | 2Saul and the Israelite army assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against the Philistines. |
| 3The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. | 3The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites on another hill, with the 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. | 4Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. |
| 5He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; | 5He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was five thousand shekels. |
| 6on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. | 6He had bronze shin guards on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over 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. | 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer was walking 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. | 8Goliath stood and called to Israel's troops, "Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man so he may 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 is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us." |
| 10Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." | 10Then the Philistine said, "I defy Israel's troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight each other!" |
| 11On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. | 11When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very 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 this Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons, and in Saul's days he was old and well advanced in years. |
| 13Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. | 13Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest. |
| 14David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, | 14Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul, |
| 15but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem. | 15David was going back and forth from Saul in order to care for his father's sheep in Bethlehem. |
| 16For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. | 16Meanwhile for forty days the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took his position. |
| 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. | 17Jesse said to his son David, "Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly to the camp to your brothers. |
| 18Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. | 18Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. |
| 19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines." | 19They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army 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. | 20So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry. |
| 21Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. | 21Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. |
| 22David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. | 22After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. |
| 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. | 23As he was speaking with them, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did, and David heard it. |
| 24Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. | 24When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated from his presence and were very 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." | 25The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father's house exempt from tax obligations 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?" | 26David asked the men who were standing near him, "What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies 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." | 27The soldiers told him what had been promised, saying, "This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down." |
| 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." | 28When David's oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry with David and said, "Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! You have come down here to watch the battle!" |
| 29"Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" | 29David replied, "What have I done now? Can't I say anything?" |
| 30He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. | 30Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, but they gave him the same answer as before. |
| 31What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. | 31When David's words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him. |
| 32David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." | 32David said to Saul, "Don't let anyone be discouraged. Your servant will go and fight 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." | 33But Saul replied to David, "You aren't able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You're just a boy! He has been a warrior 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, | 34David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from 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. | 35I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. |
| 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. | 36Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. For he has 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 went on to say, "The LORD who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "Go! The LORD will be with you." |
| 38Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. | 38Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. |
| 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. | 39David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. David said to Saul, "I can't walk in these things, for I'm not used to them." So David removed them. |
| 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. | 40He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine. |
| 41Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. | 41The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. |
| 42He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. | 42When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. |
| 43He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. | 43The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?" Then 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!" | 44The Philistine said to David, "Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals 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. | 45But David replied to the Philistine, "You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel's armies, whom you have 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 very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God |
| 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 will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves! For the battle is the LORD's, and he will deliver you into our hand." |
| 48As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. | 48The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack 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. | 49David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground. |
| 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. | 50David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. |
| 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. | 51David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath's sword, drew it from its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away. |
| 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. | 52Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. They chased the Philistines to the valley and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. |
| 53When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. | 53When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. |
| 54David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent. | 54David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath's weapons 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." | 55Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, "Whose son is this young man, Abner?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know." |
| 56The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is." | 56The king said, "Find out whose son this boy 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. | 57So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had 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." | 58Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem." |
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