Add parallel Print Page Options

He had bronze shin guards[a] on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. The shaft[b] of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 600 shekels.[c] His shield bearer was walking before him.

Goliath[d] stood and called to Israel’s troops,[e] “Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose[f] for yourselves a man so he may come down[g] to me!

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 17:6 sn Or “greaves.” These were coverings (probably lined for comfort) that extended from about the knee to the ankle, affording protection for the shins of a warrior.
  2. 1 Samuel 17:7 tn The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading “wood,” rather than the “arrow” (the reading of the Kethib).
  3. 1 Samuel 17:7 sn That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
  4. 1 Samuel 17:8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. 1 Samuel 17:8 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to them.”
  6. 1 Samuel 17:8 tc The translation follows the ancient versions in reading “choose,” (from the root בָּחַר, bakhar), rather than the MT. The verb in MT (בָּרָה, barah) elsewhere means “to eat food”; the sense of “to choose,” required here by the context, is not attested for this root. The MT apparently reflects an early scribal error.
  7. 1 Samuel 17:8 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (either an imperfect or jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result here.