1 Samuel 17
New King James Version
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at (A)Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named (B)Goliath, from (C)Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was [a]armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the (D)servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and (E)serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I (F)defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 Now David was (G)the son of that (H)Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had (I)eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The (J)names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul (K)to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and (L)see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke (M)according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, (N)will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away (O)the reproach from Israel? For who is this (P)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should (Q)defy the armies of (R)the living God?”
27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, (S)“So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s (T)anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29 And David said, “What have I done now? (U)Is[b] there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and (V)said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.
31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, (W)“Let no man’s heart fail because of him; (X)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 And Saul said to David, (Y)“You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a (Z)lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, (AA)“The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, (AB)“Go, and the Lord be with you!”
38 So Saul clothed David with his [c]armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he (AC)disdained[d] him; for he was only a youth, (AD)ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine (AE)said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine (AF)said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. (AG)But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have (AH)defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give (AI)the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, (AJ)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord (AK)does not save with sword and spear; for (AL)the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and (AM)ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a (AN)sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his (AO)sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, (AP)they fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of [e]the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to (AQ)Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to (AR)Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, (AS)whose son is this youth?”
And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”
57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul (AT)with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
So David answered, (AU)“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:5 clothed with scaled body armor
- 1 Samuel 17:29 Lit. Is it not a word? or matter?
- 1 Samuel 17:38 Lit. clothes
- 1 Samuel 17:42 belittled
- 1 Samuel 17:52 So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX Gath
1 Samuel 17
New American Standard Bible 1995
Goliath’s Challenge
17 Now (A)the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between (B)Socoh and (C)Azekah, in (D)Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in (E)the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named (F)Goliath, from (G)Gath, whose height was six [a]cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor [b]which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze [c]greaves on his legs and a (H)bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 (I)The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; (J)his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you (K)servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 (L)If he is able to fight with me and [d]kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and [e]kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “(M)I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 Now David was (N)the son of [f]the (O)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and (P)he had eight sons. And [g]Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 The three older sons of Jesse had [h]gone after Saul to the battle. And (Q)the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 (R)David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, 15 (S)but David went back and forth from Saul (T)to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. 16 The Philistine came [i]forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand.
17 Then Jesse said to David his son, “(U)Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 (V)Bring also these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, (W)and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back [j]news of them. 19 For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
David Accepts the Challenge
20 So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the (X)circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. 22 Then David left his (Y)baggage in the [k]care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke (Z)these same words; and David heard them.
24 When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and (AA)will give him his daughter and make his father’s house [l]free in Israel.”
26 Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away (AB)the reproach from Israel? For who is this (AC)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should (AD)taunt the armies of (AE)the living God?” 27 The people [m]answered him in accord with this word, saying, “(AF)Thus it will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and (AG)Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a [n]question?” 30 Then he turned [o]away from him to another and (AH)said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as [p]before.
David Kills Goliath
31 When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them [q]to Saul, and he sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “(AI)Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; (AJ)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Then Saul said to David, “(AK)You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and [r]attacked him, and (AL)rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and [s]struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has [t]killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “(AM)The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “(AN)Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39 David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them [u]off. 40 He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and (AO)his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
41 Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, (AP)he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and (AQ)ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, “(AR)Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And (AS)the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh (AT)to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, (AU)but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the (AV)dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, (AW)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that (AX)the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; (AY)for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that (AZ)David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.
50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and (BA)took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. (BB)When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines [v]as far as the valley, and to the gates of (BC)Ekron. And the slain Philistines [w]lay along the way to (BD)Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54 Then David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55 Now when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is (BE)this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 The king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” 57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and (BF)brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “(BG)I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:4 I.e. One cubit equals approx 18 in.
- 1 Samuel 17:5 Lit and the weight of the armor was
- 1 Samuel 17:6 Or shin guards
- 1 Samuel 17:9 Lit smite
- 1 Samuel 17:9 Lit smite
- 1 Samuel 17:12 Lit this
- 1 Samuel 17:12 Lit the man
- 1 Samuel 17:13 Lit gone; they went
- 1 Samuel 17:16 Lit near
- 1 Samuel 17:18 Lit their pledge
- 1 Samuel 17:22 Lit hand
- 1 Samuel 17:25 I.e. free from taxes and public service
- 1 Samuel 17:27 Lit said to
- 1 Samuel 17:29 Lit word
- 1 Samuel 17:30 Lit from beside him
- 1 Samuel 17:30 Lit the former word
- 1 Samuel 17:31 Lit before
- 1 Samuel 17:35 Lit smote
- 1 Samuel 17:35 Lit smote
- 1 Samuel 17:36 Lit smitten
- 1 Samuel 17:39 Lit off from himself
- 1 Samuel 17:52 Lit until your coming to
- 1 Samuel 17:52 Lit fell
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
