| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. | 1Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. |
| 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. | 2Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. |
| 3The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. | 3The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. |
| 4And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. | 4A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. |
| 5He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. | 5He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; |
| 6And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. | 6on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. |
| 7Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. | 7His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. |
| 8Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. | 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. |
| 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” | 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." |
| 10And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” | 10Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." |
| 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. | 11On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. |
| 12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. | 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. |
| 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. | 13Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. |
| 14David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. | 14David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, |
| 15But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. | 15but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem. |
| 16And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening. | 16For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. |
| 17Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. | 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. |
| 18And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” | 18Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. |
| 19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. | 19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines." |
| 20So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. | 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. |
| 21For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. | 21Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. |
| 22And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. | 22David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. |
| 23Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. | 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. |
| 24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. | 24Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. |
| 25So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.” | 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." |
| 26Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” | 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?" |
| 27And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.” | 27They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him." |
| 28Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” | 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." |
| 29And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” | 29"Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" |
| 30Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did. | 30He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. |
| 31Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. | 31What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. |
| 32Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” | 32David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." |
| 33And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” | 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." |
| 34But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, | 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, |
| 35I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. | 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. |
| 36Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” | 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. |
| 37Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!” | 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." |
| 38So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. | 38Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. |
| 39David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. | 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. |
| 40Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. | 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. |
| 41So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. | 41Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. |
| 42And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. | 42He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. |
| 43So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. | 43He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. |
| 44And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” | 44"Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!" |
| 45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. | 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. |
| 46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. | 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. |
| 47Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.” | 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." |
| 48So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. | 48As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. |
| 49Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. | 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. |
| 50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. | 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. |
| 51Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. | 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. |
| 52Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. | 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. |
| 53Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. | 53When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. |
| 54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. | 54David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent. |
| 55When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” | 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." |
| 56So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.” | 56The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is." |
| 57Then, 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. | 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. |
| 58And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.” | 58"Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem." |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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