1 Samuel 17

₁The Philistines gathered for battle in Socoh, a town in Judah; they camped at a place called Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. ₂Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, where they got ready to fight the Philistines. ₃The Philistines lined up on one hill and the Israelites on another, with a valley between them.

₄A man named Goliath, from the city of Gath, came out from the Philistine camp to challenge the Israelites. He was nearly three metres tall ₅and wore bronze armour that weighed about 57 kilogrammes and a bronze helmet. ₆His legs were also protected by bronze armour, and he carried a bronze javelin slung over his shoulder. ₇His spear was as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom, and its iron head weighed about seven kilogrammes. A soldier walked in front of him carrying his shield. ₈Goliath stood and shouted at the Israelites, “What are you doing there, lined up for battle? I am a Philistine, you slaves of Saul! Choose one of your men to fight me. ₉If he wins and kills me, we will be your slaves; but if I win and kill him, you will be our slaves. ₁₀Here and now I challenge the Israelite army. I dare you to pick someone to fight me!” ₁₁When Saul and his men heard this, they were terrified.

₁₂David was the son of Jesse, who was an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and at the time Saul was king, he was already a very old man. ₁₃His three eldest sons had gone with Saul to war. The eldest was Eliab, the next was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. ₁₄David was the youngest son, and while the three eldest brothers stayed with Saul, ₁₅David would go back to Bethlehem from time to time, to take care of his father's sheep.

₁₆Goliath challenged the Israelites every morning and evening for forty days.

₁₇One day Jesse said to David, “Take ten kilogrammes of this roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and hurry with them to your brothers in the camp. ₁₈And take these ten cheeses to the commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are getting on and bring back something to show that you saw them and that they are well. ₁₉King Saul, your brothers, and all the other Israelites are in the Valley of Elah fighting the Philistines.”

₂₀David got up early the next morning, left someone else in charge of the sheep, took the food, and went as Jesse had told him to. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelites were going out to their battle line, shouting the war cry. ₂₁The Philistine and the Israelite armies took up positions for battle, facing each other. ₂₂David left the food with the officer in charge of the supplies, ran to the battle line, went to his brothers, and asked how they were getting on. ₂₃As he was talking to them, Goliath came forward and challenged the Israelites as he had done before. And David heard him. ₂₄When the Israelites saw Goliath, they ran away in terror. ₂₅“Look at him!” they said to each other. “Listen to his challenge! King Saul has promised to give a big reward to the man who kills him; the king will also give him his daughter to marry and will not require his father's family to pay taxes.”

₂₆David asked the men who were near him, “What will the man get who kills this Philistine and frees Israel from this disgrace? After all, who is this heathen Philistine to defy the army of the living God?” ₂₇They told him what would be done for the man who killed Goliath.

₂₈Eliab, David's eldest brother, heard David talking to the men. He was angry with David and said, “What are you doing here? Who is taking care of those sheep of yours out there in the wilderness? You cheeky brat, you! You just came to watch the fighting!”

₂₉“Now what have I done?” David asked. “Can't I even ask a question?” ₃₀He turned to another man and asked him the same question, and every time he asked, he got the same answer.

₃₁Some men heard what David had said, and they told Saul, who sent for him. ₃₂David said to Saul, “Your Majesty, no one should be afraid of this Philistine! I will go and fight him.”

₃₃“No,” answered Saul. “How could you fight him? You're just a boy, and he has been a soldier all his life!”

₃₄“Your Majesty,” David said, “I take care of my father's sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear carries off a lamb, ₃₅I go after it, attack it, and rescue the lamb. And if the lion or bear turns on me, I grab it by the throat and beat it to death. ₃₆I have killed lions and bears, and I will do the same to this heathen Philistine, who has defied the army of the living God. ₃₇The LORD has saved me from lions and bears; he will save me from this Philistine.”

“All right,” Saul answered. “Go, and the LORD be with you.” ₃₈He gave his own armour to David for him to wear: a bronze helmet, which he put on David's head, and a coat of armour. ₃₉David strapped Saul's sword over the armour and tried to walk, but he couldn't, because he wasn't used to wearing them. “I can't fight with all this,” he said to Saul. “I'm not used to it.” So he took it all off. ₄₀He took his shepherd's stick and then picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in his bag. With his sling ready, he went out to meet Goliath.

₄₁The Philistine started walking towards David, with his shield-bearer walking in front of him. He kept coming closer, ₄₂and when he got a good look at David, he was filled with scorn for him because he was just a nice, good-looking boy. ₄₃He said to David, “What's that stick for? Do you think I'm a dog?” And he called down curses from his god on David. ₄₄“Come on,” he challenged David, “and I will give your body to the birds and animals to eat.”

₄₅David answered, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied. ₄₆This very day the LORD will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your head. And I will give the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and animals to eat. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a God, ₄₇and everyone here will see that the LORD does not need swords or spears to save his people. He is victorious in battle, and he will put all of you in our power.”

₄₈Goliath started walking towards David again, and David ran quickly towards the Philistine battle line to fight him. ₄₉He put his hand into his bag and took out a stone, which he slung at Goliath. It hit him on the forehead and broke his skull, and Goliath fell face downwards on the ground. ₅₀And so, without a sword, David defeated and killed Goliath with a sling and a stone! ₅₁He ran to him, stood over him, took Goliath's sword out of its sheath, and cut off his head and killed him.

When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran away. ₅₂The men of Israel and Judah shouted and ran after them, pursuing them all the way to Gath and to the gates of Ekron. The Philistines fell wounded all along the road that leads to Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. ₅₃When the Israelites came back from pursuing the Philistines, they looted their camp. ₅₄David picked up Goliath's head and took it to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath's weapons in his own tent.

₅₅When Saul saw David going out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is he?”

“I have no idea, Your Majesty,” Abner answered.

₅₆“Then go and find out,” Saul ordered.

₅₇So when David returned to camp after killing Goliath, Abner took him to Saul. David was still carrying Goliath's head. ₅₈Saul asked him, “Young man, whose son are you?”

“I am the son of your servant Jesse from Bethlehem,” David answered.