Goliath’s Challenge

1And the Philistines gathered together their camps for the battle, and they were gathered together at Sochoh which is to Judah, and they encamped between Sochoh and between Azekah in Ephes-dammim. 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah and arrayed for battle against the Philistines.

3And the Philistines stood on the mountain on this side, and Israel stood on the mountain on this side, and the valley was between them.

4And went out a man, a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.† 5And a helmet of brass was on his head, and with a coat of mail he was clothed, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.† 6And a frontlet of bronze was on his legs, and a javelin of bronze between his shoulders. 7And the staff of his spear was like a beam of weavers, and the flame of his spear was six hundred shekels of iron.† And the bearer of the buckler went before his face.

8And he stood and cried out to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why have you⁺ come out to draw up lines for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you⁺ the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your⁺ servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you⁺ will become our servants and serve us.”

10And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give to me a man, that we may fight together.”

11And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

David Accepts the Challenge

And David was the son of this Ephrathite man from Bethlehem in Judah, and his name was Jesse. And were to him eight sons among men. In the days of Saul he had become aged among men. And the three oldest the sons of Jesse had gone to follow after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and his second Abinadab, and the third Shammah. And David was the youngest,

and the three oldest followed Saul. And David went and returned from Saul to feed the flock of his father in Bethlehem.

And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and he stationed himself forty days.

And Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain,† and these ten loaves of bread, and run to the camp to your brothers. And these ten cuttings of the cheese carry to the captain of the thousand, and your brothers inspect for welfare, and bring back their pledge.†” And Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

And David rose early in the morning, and left the flock with a keeper, and loaded up, and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp and to the force going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. And Israel and the Philistines had arrayed rank against rank.

And David left his supplies in the hand of the keeper of the goods, and he ran into the rank, and came and asked his brothers of welfare. And as he talked with them, behold, a man, the champion, was coming up, by the name of Goliath the Philistine of Gath, from the armies of the Philistines. And he spoke these words, and David heard.

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were greatly afraid.

And 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 come to pass that the man who kills him, the king will enrich with great riches, and his daughter will give to him, and the house of his father he will make free in Israel.”

And 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 upon Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the ranks of the living God?”

And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

And Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men, and the anger of Eliab was kindled against David, and he said, “Why is this that you came down, and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for in order you have come down to see the battle.”

And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not a word?” And he turned from him toward another front, and he spoke this word, and the people answered him a word as the first word.

And the words that David spoke were heard, and they reported them to Saul, and he sent for him.

32And David said to Saul, “Let no heart of man fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

33And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.”

34And David said to Saul, “Your servant has been pasturing the sheep of his father, and the lion or the bear came and carried away a lamb out of the flock, 35and I went out after it and struck it and snatched it up from its mouth. And it arose against me, and I caught it by its beard, and struck it down and killed it. 36Even the lion and the bear your servant has killed, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

37And David said, “YHWH, who snatched me up from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and YHWH be with you.”

David Slays Goliath

38And Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him in armor. 39And David fastened his sword above his long robe and began to go, for he had not tested them.

And David said to Saul, “I am not able to walk with these, for I have not tested them.” And David turned them aside from himself. 40And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and he put them in a bag of the shepherd that was unto him, even in the pouch. And his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

And the Philistine came, going and drawing near to David, and the man went who bore the shield before him. 42And the Philistine looked about and saw David and despised him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance. 43And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you would come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the bird of the heavens and to the beast of the field.”

45And David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with the sword, and with the spear, and with the javelin, and I come to you in the name of YHWH of Hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day YHWH will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you, and I will give the carcass of the camp of the Philistines this day to the bird of the heavens and to the beast of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47And all this assembly shall know that YHWH saves not with sword and with spear, for the battle is to YHWH, and He will give to you⁺ into our hands.”

48And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran to the rank to meet the Philistine. 49And David put his hand in the vessel and took out a stone, and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead. And he fell on his face to the ground.

And David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and with the stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him. And no sword was in the hand of David. 51And David ran and stood over the Philistine, and he took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and he killed him and cut off with it his head.

And the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and they fled. 52And the men of Israel and Judah arose, and they shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of Gath† and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, and to Gath, and to Ekron.

53And the sons of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camps. 54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem. And he put his weapons in his tent.

And Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, and he said to Abner the commander of the army, “The son of whom is this youth, Abner?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, if I know.”

And the king said, “Inquire you, the son of whom this is—the young man.”

And David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, and Abner took him and brought him before the face of Saul, and the head of the Philistine was in his hand.

And Saul said to him, “The son of whom are you, O young man?”

And David answered, “The son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Footnotes:

4 Goliath was approximately 9 feet 9 inches or 297 centimeters tall; LXX, DSS, and Josephus four cubits and a span in height (approximately 6 feet 9 inches or 206 centimeters tall).
5 5,000 shekels is approximately 125.6 pounds or 57 kilograms.
7 600 shekels is approximately 15.1 pounds or 6.8 kilograms.
17 An ephah is approximately 20 dry quarts or 22 liters of roasted grain.
18 Or some token from them or an assurance from them
52 LXX; Hebrew of Gai; that is, of the valley