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1 S A MU EL 1 7
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say,
“Send me your son David, the shepherd.” 20 Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along
with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread,
and a wineskin full of wine.
21 So David went to Saul and began serving
him. Saul loved David very much, and David
became his armor bearer.
22 Then Saul sent word to Jes se asking,
“Please let David remain in my service, for I am
very pleased with him.”
23 And whenever the tormenting spirit from
God troubled Saul, David would play the harp.
Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting
spirit would go away.
Goliath Challenges the Israelites
The Philistines now mustered their army
for battle and camped between Socoh in
Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul
countered by gathering his Israelite troops near
the valley of Elah. 3 So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with
the valley between them.
4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from
Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face
the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet* tall!
5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat
of mail weighed 125 pounds.* 6 He also wore
bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. 7 The shaft of his spear
was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam,
tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed
15 pounds.* His armor bearer walked ahead of
him carrying a shield.
8 Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to
the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to
fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion,
but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose
one man to come down here and fight me! 9 If he
kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill
him, you will be our slaves! 10 I defy the armies
of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight
me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this,
they were terrified and deeply shaken.
17
Jesse Sends David to Saul’s Camp
12 Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land
of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time,
and he had eight sons. 13 Jesse’s three oldest
sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea*—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines.
14 David was the youngest son. David’s three
oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, 15 but
David went back and forth so he could help his
father with the sheep in Bethlehem.
16 For forty days, every morning and evening,
the Philistine champion strutted in front of the
Israelite army.
17 One day Jesse said to David, “Take this
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basket* of roasted grain and these ten loaves
of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. 18 And give these ten cuts of cheese to their
captain. See how your brothers are getting
along, and bring back a report on how they are
doing.*” 19 David’s brothers were with Saul and
the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting
against the Philistines.
20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the
gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at
the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving
for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.
21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood
facing each other, army against army. 22 David
left his things with the keeper of supplies and
hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers.
23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the
Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout
his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they
began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen
the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each
day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge
reward to anyone who kills him. He will give
that man one of his daughters for a wife, and
the man’s entire family will be exempted from
paying taxes!”
26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby,
“What will a man get for killing this Philistine
and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this
pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to
defy the armies of the living God?”
27 And these men gave David the same reply.
They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing
him.”
28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab,
heard David talking to the men, he was angry.
“What are you doing around here anyway?”
he demanded. “What about those few sheep
you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know
about your pride and deceit. You just want to
see the battle!”
29 “What have I done now?” David replied.
“I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked
over to some others and asked them the same
thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and
the king sent for him.
David Kills Goliath
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told
Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s
no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly
17:4 Hebrew 6 cubits and 1 span [which totals about 9.75 feet or
3 meters]; Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read 4 cubits and
1 span [which totals about 6.75 feet or 2 meters]. 17:5 Hebrew
5,000 shekels [57 kilograms]. 17:7 Hebrew 600 shekels
[6.8 kilograms]. 17:13 Hebrew Shammah, a variant spelling
of Shimea; compare 1 Chr 2:13; 20:7. 17:17 Hebrew ephah
[20 quarts or 22 liters]. 17:18 Hebrew and take their pledge.