1 Samuel 17

Goliath Challenges Israel

1The Philistines gathered their armies for battle and were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah. They camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-Dammim. 2Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah. They drew up in battle formation to meet the Philistines. 3The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4Then a champion came out from the camps of the Philistines, whose name was Goliath from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span. 5A bronze helmet was upon his head, and he was clothed with scale armor; the weight of the armor was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6He had bronze greaves upon his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the blade of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron. His shield-bearer went before him. 8He stood and called to the battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why have you come out to arrange for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and strike me, then we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10The Philistine said, “I myself defy the battle lines of Israel this day. Give me a man, and let us fight together.” 11Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine and were shattered and greatly afraid.

David Comes to the Camp

12Now David was son of this Ephrathite man from Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse. He had eight sons, and the man in the days of Saul was old, advanced among men. 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to battle were Eliab the firstborn, Abinadab his second, and Shammah the third. 14David was the youngest. The three oldest had gone after Saul. 15But David went and returned from Saul to shepherd his father’s flock at Bethlehem. 16The Philistine drew near morning and evening and presented himself forty days. 17Jesse said to David his son, “Please take for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18And take these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand. Visit your brothers for their well-being and take their pledge.” 19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. 20David rose early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, carried the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going out to the battle line and shouting for battle. 21Israel and the Philistines arranged battle line against battle line. 22David left the things from upon him in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the battle line, and came and asked his brothers about their well-being.

David Hears Goliath’s Challenge

23As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, Goliath the Philistine from Gath, came up from the battle lines of the Philistines and spoke according to these words, and David heard. 24When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from before him and were greatly afraid. 25The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who comes up? Surely he comes up to defy Israel. And it shall be that the man who strikes him, the king will enrich him with great riches, give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26David spoke to the men standing with him, saying, “What will be done for the man who strikes this Philistine and removes reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the battle lines of the living God?” 27The people spoke to him according to this word, saying, “Thus shall it be done for the man who strikes him.”

Eliab Is Angry with David

28Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab’s anger burned against David. He said, “Why did you come down? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you came down so that you might see the battle.” 29David said, “What have I done now? Was it not only a word?” 30He turned from beside him toward another and spoke according to the same word, and the people returned a word to him like the former word.

David Offers to Fight Goliath

31The words that David spoke were heard, and they reported them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32David said to Saul, “Let no human heart fall because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.” 34David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s flock, and a lion came, and also a bear, and carried off a sheep from the flock. 35I went out after it and struck it and rescued from its mouth. When it rose against me, I seized it by its beard, struck it, and put it to death. 36Your servant struck both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, because he defied the battle lines of the living God.” 37David said, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”

David Refuses Saul’s Armor

38Saul clothed David with his garments, put a bronze helmet upon his head, and clothed him with armor. 39David strapped his sword over his garments and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. David said to Saul, “I am not able to walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David removed them from himself. 40He took his staff in his hand, chose for himself five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in the shepherd’s bag that he had, in the pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

David and Goliath Confront One Another

41The Philistine came on, drawing nearer to David, and the man carrying the shield was before him. 42The Philistine looked and saw David and despised him, for he was a youth, ruddy, and handsome in appearance. 43The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the animals of the field.” 45David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the LORD will give you into my hand, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. I will give the corpses of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the heavens and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47And all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear, for the battle belongs to the LORD, and he will give you into our hand.”

David Strikes Goliath

48And it happened when the Philistine arose and went and drew near to meet David that David hurried and ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49David stretched his hand into the bag, took from there a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground. 50So David prevailed over the Philistine with sling and stone. He struck the Philistine and put him to death, though there was no sword in David’s hand. 51Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it from its sheath, put him to death, and cut off his head with it.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

Israel Pursues the Philistines

52The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and as far as the gates of Ekron. The slain Philistines fell on the way of Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53The children of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

Saul Asks Who David Is

55When Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner commander of the army, “Whose son is this young man, Abner?” Abner said, “As your life lives, O king, I do not know.” 56The king said, “You inquire whose son this youth is.” 57When David returned from striking the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David said, “The son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”