Goliath's Challenge

1And the Philistines gather their camps to battle, and are gathered to Shochoh, which [is] to Judah, and encamp between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-Dammim; 2and Saul and the men of Israel have been gathered, and encamp by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array to meet the Philistines. 3And the Philistines are standing on the mountain on this side, and the Israelites are standing on the mountain on that side, and the valley [is] between them. 4And there goeth out a man of the duellists from the camps of the Philistines, Goliath [is] his name, from Gath; his height [is] six cubits and a span, 5and a helmet of brass [is] on his head, and [with] a scaled coat of mail he [is] clothed, and the weight of the coat of mail [is] five thousand shekels of brass, 6and a frontlet of brass [is] on his feet, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders, 7and the wood of his spear [is] like a beam of weavers’, and the flame of his spear [is] six hundred shekels of iron, and the bearer of the buckler is going before him. 8And he standeth and calleth unto the ranks of Israel, and saith to them, ‘Why are ye come out to set in array the battle? [am] not I the Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose for you a man, and let him come down unto me; 9if he be able to fight with me, and have smitten me, then we have been to you for servants; and if I am able for him, and have smitten him, then ye have been to us for servants, and have served us.’ 10And the Philistine saith, ‘I have reproached the ranks of Israel this day; give to me a man, and we fight together.’ 11And Saul heareth — and all Israel — these words of the Philistine, and they are broken down and greatly afraid.

Jesse Sends David

12And David [is] son of this Ephrathite of Beth-Lehem-Judah, whose name [is] Jesse, and he hath eight sons, and the man in the days of Saul hath become aged among men; 13and the three eldest sons of Jesse go, they have gone after Saul to battle; and the name of his three sons who have gone into battle [are] Eliab the first-born, and his second Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14And David is the youngest, and the three eldest have gone after Saul, 15and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem. 16And the Philistine draweth nigh, morning and evening, and stationeth himself forty days.

17And Jesse saith to David his son, ‘Take, I pray thee, to thy brethren, an ephah of this roasted [corn], and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 18and these ten cuttings of the cheese thou dost take in to the head of the thousand, and thy brethren thou dost inspect for welfare, and their pledge dost receive.’ 19And Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel [are] in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

David Accepts the Challenge

20And David riseth early in the morning, and leaveth the flock to a keeper, and lifteth up, and goeth, as Jesse commanded him, and he cometh in to the path, and to the force which is going out unto the rank, and they have shouted for battle; 21and Israel and the Philistines set in array rank to meet rank. 22And David letteth down the goods from off him on the hand of a keeper of the goods, and runneth into the rank, and cometh and asketh of his brethren of welfare. 23And he is speaking with them, and lo, a man of the duellists is coming up, Goliath the Philistine [is] his name, of Gath, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he speaketh according to those words, and David heareth;

24and all the men of Israel when they see the man flee from his presence, and are greatly afraid. 25And the men of Israel say, ‘Have ye seen this man who is coming up? for, to reproach Israel he is coming up, and it hath been — the man who smiteth him, the king doth enrich him with great riches, and his daughter he doth give to him, and his father’s house doth make free in Israel.’

26And David speaketh unto the men who are standing by him, saying, ‘What is done to the man who smiteth this Philistine, and hath turned aside reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine that he hath reproached the ranks of the living God?’ 27And the people speak to him according to this word, saying, ‘Thus it is done to the man who smiteth him.’

28And Eliab, his eldest brother, heareth when he speaketh unto the men, and the anger of Eliab burneth against David, and he saith, ‘Why [is] this — thou hast come down! and to whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I have known thy pride, and the evil of thy heart — for, to see the battle thou hast come down.’ 29And David saith, ‘What have I done now? is it not a word?’ 30And he turneth round from him unto another, and saith according to this word, and the people return him word as the first word.

David Slays Goliath

31And the words which David hath spoken are heard, and they declare before Saul, and he receiveth him; 32and David saith unto Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fall because of him, thy servant doth go, and hath fought with this Philistine.’ 33And Saul saith unto David, ‘Thou art not able to go unto this Philistine, to fight with him, for a youth thou [art], and he a man of war from his youth.’ 34And David saith unto Saul, ‘A shepherd hath thy servant been to his father among the sheep, and the lion hath come — and the bear — and hath taken away a sheep out of the drove, 35and I have gone out after him, and smitten him, and delivered out of his mouth, and he riseth against me, and I have taken hold on his beard, and smitten him, and put him to death. 36Both the lion and the bear hath thy servant smitten, and this uncircumcised Philistine hath been as one of them, for he hath reproached the ranks of the living God.’ 37And David saith, ‘Jehovah, who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He doth deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul saith unto David, ‘Go, and Jehovah is with thee.’ 38And Saul clotheth David with his long robe, and hath put a helmet of brass on his head, and doth clothe him with a coat of mail. 39And David girded his sword above his long robe, and beginneth to go, for he hath not tried [it]; and David saith unto Saul, ‘I am not able to go with these, for I had not tried;’ and David turneth them aside from off him. 40And he taketh his staff in his hand, and chooseth for him five smooth stones from the brook, and putteth them in the shepherds’ habiliments that he hath, even in the scrip, and his sling [is] in his hand, and he draweth nigh unto the Philistine.

41And the Philistine goeth on, going and drawing near unto David, and the man bearing the buckler [is] before him, 42and the Philistine looketh attentively, and seeth David, and despiseth him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance. 43And the Philistine saith unto David, ‘Am I a dog that thou art coming unto me with staves?’ and the Philistine revileth David by his gods, 44and the Philistine saith unto David, ‘Come unto me, and I give thy flesh to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.’ 45And David saith unto the Philistine, ‘Thou art coming unto me with sword, and with spear, and with buckler, and I am coming unto thee in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, God of the ranks of Israel, which thou hast reproached. 46This day doth Jehovah shut thee up into my hand — and I have smitten thee, and turned aside thy head from off thee, and given the carcase of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and all the earth do know that God is for Israel. 47and all this assembly do know that not by sword and by spear doth Jehovah save, that the battle [is] Jehovah’s, and He hath given you into our hand.’

48And it hath come to pass, that the Philistine hath risen, and goeth, and draweth near to meet David, and David hasteth and runneth to the rank to meet the Philistine, 49and David putteth forth his hand unto the vessel, and taketh thence a stone, and slingeth, and smiteth the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sinketh into his forehead, and he falleth on his face to the earth.

50And David is stronger than the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smiteth the Philistine, and putteth him to death, and there is no sword in the hand of David, 51and David runneth and standeth over the Philistine, and taketh his sword, and draweth it out of its sheath, and putteth him to death, and cutteth off with it his head; and the Philistines see that their hero [is] dead, and flee. 52And the men of Israel rise — also Judah — and shout, and pursue the Philistines till thou enter the valley, and unto the gates of Ekron, and the wounded of the Philistines fall in the way of Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron, 53and the sons of Israel turn back from burning after the Philistines, and spoil their camps. 54And David taketh the head of the Philistine, and bringeth it in to Jerusalem, and his weapons he hath put in his own tent.

Saul Notices David

55And when Saul seeth David going out to meet the Philistine, he hath said unto Abner, head of the host, ‘Whose son [is] this — the youth, Abner?’ and Abner saith, ‘Thy soul liveth, O king, I have not known.’ 56And the king saith, ‘Ask thou whose son this [is] — the young man.’ 57And when David turneth back from smiting the Philistine, then Abner taketh him and bringeth him in before Saul, and the head of the Philistine in his hand; 58and Saul saith unto him, ‘Whose son [art] thou, O youth?’ and David saith, ‘Son of thy servant Jesse, the Beth-Lehemite.’