|
Chapter 17 |
| 1 | Now 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. |
| 2 | And 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. |
| 3 | And 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. |
| 4 | And there went out a champion out of the camp
of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a
span. |
| 5 |
And 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. |
| 6 |
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of
brass between his shoulders. |
|
7 | And 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. |
| 8 | And 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. |
| 9 | If 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. |
| 10 | And the
Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we
may fight together. |
| 11 | When Saul and all Israel heard those words
of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. |
| 12 | Now
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. |
| 13 |
And 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. |
| 14 |
And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. |
| 15 | But
David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at
Bethlehem. |
| 16
| And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and
presented himself forty days. |
|
17 | And 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 of thy brethren; |
| 18 | And carry these ten cheeses
unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take
their pledge. |
|
19 | Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were
in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. |
| 20 | And 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. |
| 21 | For Israel
and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. |
| 22 |
And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran
into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. |
| 23 | And 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. |
| 24 | And all the men of Israel,
when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. |
| 25 | And 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. |
| 26 | And 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? |
| 27 |
And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So
shall it be done to the man that killeth him. |
| 28 | And 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
| And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a
cause? |
| 30
| And he turned from him toward another, and spake after
the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former
manner. |
| 31
| And when the words were heard which David spake, they
rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. |
| 32 | And David
said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and
fight with this Philistine. |
|
33 | And 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. |
| 34 | And 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: |
| 35 | And 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. |
|
36 | Thy 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. |
| 37 | David 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. |
| 38 | And Saul
armed David with his armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also
he armed him with a coat of mail. |
| 39 | And David girded his sword
upon his armor, 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. |
|
40 | And 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. |
|
41 | And the Philistine came on and drew near unto
David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. |
| 42 | And when
the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a
youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. |
|
43 | And 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 | And 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. |
|
45 | Then 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. |
| 46
| This 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 carcasses
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. |
| 47
| And 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. |
| 48
| And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came,
and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to
meet the Philistine. |
| 49 | And 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.
|
| 50 | So 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. |
| 51
| Therefore 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. |
| 52
| And 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. |
| 53 | And the children of Israel
returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their
tents. |
| 54
| And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it
to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent. |
| 55 | And 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. |
| 56 | And the king said, Inquire
thou whose son the stripling is. |
| 57 | And 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 | And Saul said to him,
Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy
servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. |
