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1 SAM UEL 18
page 261
win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of
war since his youth.”
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking
care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said.
“When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb
from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns
on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and
I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has
defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord
who rescued me from the claws of the lion and
the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,”
he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—
a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put
it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step
or two to see what it was like, for he had never
worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul.
“I’m not used to them.” So David took them off
again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from
a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag.
Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and
sling, he started across the valley to fight the
Philistine.
41 Goliath walked out toward David with his
shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,”
he roared at David, “that you come at me with
a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of
his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your
flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath
yelled.
45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come
to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come
to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you
have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you,
and I will kill you and cut off your head. And
then I will give the dead bodies of your men
to the birds and wild animals, and the whole
world will know that there is a God in Israel!
47 And everyone assembled here will know that
the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword
and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will
give you to us!”
48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David
quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into
his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he
hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in
the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath
stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with
only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.
51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s
sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him
and cut off his head.
17:52 As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew reads a valley.
Israel Routs the Philistines
When the Philistines saw that their champion
was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the
men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of
triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath* and the gates of Ekron.
The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines
were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim,
as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the Israelite
army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. 54 (David took the Philistine’s head
to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in
his own tent.)
55 As Saul watched David go out to fight the
Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of
his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
56 “Well, find out who he is!” the king told
him.
57 As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58 “Tell me about
your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and
we live in Bethlehem.”
Saul Becomes Jealous of David
After David had finished talking with
Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son.
There was an immediate bond between them,
for Jonathan loved David. 2 From that day on
Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him
return home. 3 And Jonathan made a solemn
pact with David, because he loved him as he
loved himself. 4 Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together
with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
5 Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did
it successfully. So Saul made him a commander
over the men of war, an appointment that was
welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers
alike.
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• Friendship
1 S A M U E L 18:1-4
When David and Jonathan met, they
became close friends at once. Although
Jonathan was probably somewhat older
than David, their friendship is one of the
deepest and closest recorded in the Bible
because they (1) based their friendship on
commitment to God, not just each other,
(2) let nothing come between them, not
even career or family problems, (3) drew
closer together when their friendship
was tested, and (4) were able to remain
friends to the end.