| 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. |
