1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel Chapter 17 KJV

1The armies of the Israelites and Philistines being drawn out to battle, 4Goliath cometh forward with a proud challenge. 12David, sent by his father to the army to visit his brethren, 20heareth the challenge, and expresseth indignation thereat. 28Eliab his eldest brother chideth him. 30His words cause him to be brought before Saul; 32he accepteth the challenge, and sheweth the grounds of his confidence. 38He refuseth Saul's armour, and armed only with a sling and a stone slayeth the giant. 52The Philistines are routed. 54David bringeth back the head of Goliath. 55Saul enquireth and taketh notice of him.
1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at 1Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in aEphes-dammim.
2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by 1the valley of Elah, and aset the battle in array against the Philistines.
3 And 1the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 ¶ And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of 1Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was aarmed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a atarget of brass between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye 1servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, 1I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
12 ¶ Now David was 1the son of that 2Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had 3eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
13 And 1the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third 2Shammah.
14 And David was 1the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15 But David went and returned 1from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself 1forty days.
17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
18 And 1carry these ten acheeses unto the bcaptain of their thousand, and look 2how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 ¶ And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the atrench, as the host was going forth to the bfight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left ahis carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and bsaluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up 1the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake 2according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled afrom him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and 1it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the 1reproach from Israel? for who is this 2uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of 3the living God?
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, 1So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
28 ¶ And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's 1anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? 2I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there 1not a cause?
30 ¶ And he turned from him toward another, and 1spake after the same amanner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he asent for him.
32 ¶ And David said to Saul, 1Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant 2will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he 1a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a alamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, 1and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this 1uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, 1The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and 2the Lord be with thee.
38 ¶ And Saul aarmed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David 1put them off him.
40 And he took his 1staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the abrook, and put them in a shepherd's bbag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and 1the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he 1disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am 1I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine 2cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a 1shield: but 2I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast 3defied.
46 1This day will the Lord adeliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; 2that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know 1that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for 2the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands.
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And 1David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone asunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took 1his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and 2slew him, and 3cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
52 And 1the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou 2come to the valley, and to the gates of 3Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto 4Gath, and unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
54 And David 1took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to 2Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
55 ¶ And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said 1unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, 2whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As 3thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the 1stripling is.
57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul 1with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, 1I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.
1 Samuel 17