1 Samuel 17

1 The Philistines gathered their armies for war. They gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and camped between Socoh and Azekah, at Ephes-dammim. [a] 2 And Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the valley, and they drew up their line for battle against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, and the valley lay between them.

4 And a champion came out from the Philistine ranks. His name was Goliath, from Gath, and his height was six feet nine inches. [b] 5 He had a helmet on his head, and he was wearing a coat of chain armor, and the weight of the coat was about 125 pounds of bronze and iron. [c] 6 Bronze guards were on his legs, and a bronze shield hung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron head weighed about fifteen pounds; and the man who carried his weapons walked ahead of him. [d]

8 And he stood and shouted across to the army of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to draw up your line against us? Am I not a Philistine, and you the Hebrews of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight me and strikes me down, then we will be your slaves; but if I win and strike him down, you will be our slaves and you will serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “Today, on this very day, I have defied the army of Israel. Give me a man, and the two of us will fight it out alone.” 11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were shaken, and they were very much afraid. [e]

32 And David said to Saul, “Do not let my lord’s heart sink because of him. Your servant will go and fight this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You cannot go against this Philistine to fight him. You are only a boy, and he has been a man of war since he was young.”

34 And David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping the flock for his father. And whenever a lion came, or a bear, and took a sheep out of the herd, 35 I went out after it and struck it and pulled the sheep out of its mouth; and if it rose up against me, I caught it by the throat and struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant struck down both the bear and the lion, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them. Shall I not go and strike him down, and take away today the disgrace that lies on Israel? For who is this uncircumcised man, that he should defy the army of the living God? 37 The Lord, who rescued me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will rescue me out of the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord will be with you.” [f]

38 And Saul dressed David in a soldier’s coat, and put a bronze helmet on his head, 39 and strapped his own sword on David over the coat. And David tried walking, once and again, and it wore him out. And David said to Saul, “I cannot go in these. I am not used to them.” So they took them off him. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones for himself out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag he carried for gathering things; and his sling was in his hand. And he came near to the Philistine. [g]

42 And Goliath saw David and looked down on him, because he was only a boy, ruddy, with fine eyes. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with a stick and stones?” And David said, “No — worse than a dog.” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. [h] 44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the earth.”

45 And David said to the Philistine, “You come at me with sword and spear and shield; but I come at you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the army of Israel, which you have defied today. [i] 46 And the Lord will shut you into my hand today, and I will kill you and take your head off you; and I will give your body and the bodies of the Philistine camp this day to the birds of the sky and to the wild animals of the earth, and all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly will know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear, for the battle belongs to the Lord, and the Lord will give you into our hands.”

48 And the Philistine got up and came to meet David. 49 And David reached his hand into the bag and took out one stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; and the stone went through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. [j] 51 And David ran and stood over him and took his sword and killed him and cut off his head. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

52 And the men of Israel and Judah got up and raised the war cry and chased them as far as the entrance of Gath and as far as the gate of Ashkelon; and the fallen of the Philistines lay along the road of the gates, both to Gath and to Ekron. 53 And the men of Israel turned back from chasing the Philistines and trampled through their camps. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; and he put his gear in his own tent. [k]