a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 And there went out a champion from 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. [1]
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a gorget of brass between his shoulders. [2]
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 to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why have ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose for yourselves a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he shall be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I shall 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 to 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 to David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this roasted grain, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. [3] [4]
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 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. [5] [6]
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran into the army, and came and greeted his brethren. [7] [8]
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, from the armies of the Philistines, and spoke 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 exceedingly afraid. [9]
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that hath come up? surely to defy Israel hath he come: and it shall be, that the man who shall kill 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 spoke 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 spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down here? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mayest 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 spoke after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. [10]
31 And when the words were heard which David spoke, they reported them before Saul: and he sent for him. [11]
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 to Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: [12]
35 And I went 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
- ↑ armed: Heb. clothed
- ↑ target: or, gorget
- ↑ cheeses: Heb. cheeses of milk
- ↑ of...: Heb. of a thousand
- ↑ trench: or, place of the carriage
- ↑ fight: or, battle array, or, place of fight
- ↑ his carriage: Heb. the vessels from upon him
- ↑ saluted...: Heb. asked his brethren of peace
- ↑ from...: Heb. from his face
- ↑ manner: Heb. word
- ↑ sent...: Heb. took him
- ↑ lamb: or, kid
