1Samuel:17

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* Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle , and were gathered at Sochoh , which belongs to Judah ; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah , in Ephes Dammim . * 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 . * The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side , and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side , with a valley between them . * And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines , named Goliath , from Gath , whose height was six cubits and a span . * He had a bronze helmet on his head , and he was armed with a coat of mail , and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze . * And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders . * 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 . * 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 servants of Saul ? Choose a man for yourselves , and let him come down to me . * 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 serve us ." * And the Philistine said , "I defy the armies of Israel this day ; give me a man , that we may fight together ." * When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine , they were dismayed and greatly afraid . * Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah , whose name was Jesse , and who had eight sons . And the man was old , advanced in years , in the days of Saul . * The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle . The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn , next to him Abinadab , and the third Shammah . * David was the youngest . And the three oldest followed Saul . * But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father 's sheep at Bethlehem . * And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days , morning and evening . * 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 . * And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand , and see how your brothers fare , and bring back news of them ." * Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah , fighting with the Philistines . * 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 . * For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array , army against army . * And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper , ran to the army , and came and greeted his brothers . * 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 according to the same words . So David heard them . * And all the men of Israel , when they saw the man , fled from him and were dreadfully afraid . * 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 , will give him his daughter , and give his father 's house exemption from taxes in Israel ." * 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 the reproach from Israel ? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine , that he should defy the armies of the living God ?" * And the people answered him in this manner , saying , "So shall it be done for the man who kills him ." * Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men ; and Eliab 's 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 ." * And David said , "What have I done now ? Is there not a cause ?" * Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing ; and these people answered him as the first ones did . * Now when the words which David spoke were heard , they reported them to Saul ; and he sent for him . * Then David said to Saul , "Let no man 's heart fail because of him ; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine ." * And Saul said to David , "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 ." * But David said to Saul , "Your servant used to keep his father 's sheep , and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock , * 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 . * 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 ." * Moreover David said , "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 , "Go , and the LORD be with you !" * So Saul clothed David with his armor , and he put a bronze helmet on his head ; he also clothed him with a coat of mail . * 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 . * 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 . * So the Philistine came , and began drawing near to David , and the man who bore the shield went before him . * And when the Philistine looked about and saw David , he disdained him ; for he was only a youth , ruddy and good-looking . * So the Philistine said to David , "Am I a dog , that you come to me with sticks ?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods . * And the Philistine said to David , "Come to me , and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field !" * Then David said to the Philistine , "You come to me with a sword , with a spear , and with a javelin . But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts , the God of the armies of Israel , whom you have defied . * 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 the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth , that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel . * Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear ; for the battle is the LORD 's , and He will give you into our hands ." * So it was , when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David , that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine . * 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 . * So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone , and struck the Philistine and killed him . But there was no sword in the hand of David . * Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine , took his 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 , they fled . * Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted , and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron . And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim , even as far as Gath and Ekron . * Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines , and they plundered their tents . * And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem , but he put his armor in his tent . * When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine , he said to Abner , the commander of the army , "Abner , whose son is this youth ?" And Abner said , "As your soul lives , O king , I do not know ." * So the king said , "Inquire whose son this young man is ." * Then , as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine , Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand . * And Saul said to him , "Whose son are you , young man ?" So David answered , "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite ."

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