Goliath’s Challenge

1Nowe the Philistims gathered their armies to battell, & came together to Shochoh, which is in Iudah, and pitched betweene Shochoh and Azekah, in the coast of Dammim. 2And Saul, and the men of Israel assembled, and pitched in the valley of Elah, and put themselues in battell araie to meete the Philistims. 3And the Philistims stoode on a mountaine on the one side, and Israel stoode on a mountaine on the other side: so a valley was betweene them. 4Then came a man betweene them both out of the tents of the Philistims, named Goliath of Gath: his height was sixe cubites and an hande breadth, 5Aud had an helmet of brasse vpo his head, & a brigandine vpon him: and the weight of his brigandine was fiue thousand shekels of brasse. 6And he had bootes of brasse vpon his legs, and a shield of brasse vpon his shoulders. 7And the shaft of his speare was like a weauers beame: and his speare head weyed sixe hundreth shekels of yron: and one bearing a shielde went before him. 8And he stoode, and cried against the hoste of Israel, and saide vnto them, Why are yee come to set your battell in aray? Am not I a Philistim, and you seruaunts to Saul? Chuse you a man for you, and let him come downe to me. 9If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then wil we be your seruants: but if I ouercome him, and kill him, then shal yee be our seruants, and serue vs. 10Also the Philistim saide, I defie the hoste of Israel this day: giue mee a man, that we may fight together. 11When Saul & all Israel heard those wordes of the Philistim, they were discouraged, & greatly afraide.

David Accepts the Challenge

12Nowe this Dauid was the sonne of an Ephrathite of Beth-lehem Iudah, named Ishai, which had eight sonnes: and this man was taken for an olde man in the daies of Saul. 13And the three eldest sonnes of Ishai went and followed Saul to the battel: and the names of his three sonnes that went to battell, were Eliab the Eldest, and the next Abinadab, and the thirde Shammah. 14So Dauid was the least: and the three eldest went after Saul. 15Dauid also went, but hee returned from Saul to feede his fathers sheepe in Beth-lehem. 16And the Philistim drew neere in the morning, and euening, and continued fourtie daies.

17And Ishai said vnto Dauid his sone, Take nowe for thy brethren an Ephah of this parched corne, and these ten cakes, and runne to the hoste to thy brethren. 18Also carie these ten fresh cheeses vnto the captaine, and looke howe thy brethren fare, and receiue their pledge. 19(Then Saul and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistims)

20So Dauid rose vp earely in the morning, and left the sheepe with a keeper, and tooke and went as Ishai had commaunded him, and came within the compasse of the hoste: and the hoste went out in araie, and shouted in the battell. 21For Israel & the Philistims had put themselues in araie, armie against armie. 22And Dauid left the things, which hee bare, vnder the handes of the keeper of the cariage, and ranne into the hoste, and came, and asked his brethren howe they did. 23And as hee talked with them, beholde, the man that was betweene the two armies, came vp, (whose name was Goliath ye Philistim of Gath) out of the armie of the Philistims, and spake such woordes, and Dauid heard them.

24And all the men of Israel, when they sawe the man, ranne away from him, and were sore afraied. 25For euery man of Israel saide, Sawe yee not this man that commeth vp? euen to reuile Israel is he come vp: and to him that killeth him, wil the king giue great riches, and will giue him his daughter, yea, and make his fathers house free in Israel.

26Then Dauid spake to the men that stoode with him, and sayde, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistim, and taketh away the shame from Israel? for who is this vncircumcised Philistim, that he shoulde reuile the hoste of the liuing God? 27And the people answered him after this maner, saying, Thus shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

28And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake vnto the men, and Eliab was verie angrie with Dauid, and sayde, Why camest thou downe hither? and with whome hast thou left those fewe sheepe in the wildernesse? I knowe thy pride and the malice of thine heart, that thou art come downe to see the battell. 29Then Dauid sayde, What haue I nowe done? Is there not a cause? 30And hee departed from him into the presence of another, and spake of the same maner, and the people answered him according to the former woordes.

31And they that heard the wordes which Dauid spake, rehearsed them before Saul, which caused him to be brought. 32So Dauid saide to Saul, Let no mans heart faile him, because of him: thy seruant wil goe, and fight with this Philistim. 33And Saul sayde to Dauid, Thou art not able to goe against this Philistim to fight with him: for thou art a boye, and he is a man of warre from his youth. 34And Dauid answered vnto Saul, Thy seruant kept his fathers sheepe, and there came a lyon, and likewise a beare, and tooke a sheepe out of the flocke, 35And I went out after him and smote him, and tooke it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by the beard, and smote him, and slue him. 36So thy seruaunt slue both the lyon, and the beare: therefore this vncircumcised Philistim shall be as one of them, seeing hee hath railed on the hoste of the liuing God. 37Moreouer Dauid sayd, The Lord that deliuered me out of the pawe of the lyon, & out of the paw of the beare, he wil deliuer me out of the hand of this Philistim. Then Saul sayd vnto Dauid, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

David Slays Goliath

38And Saul put his rayment vpon Dauid, & put an helmet of brasse vpon his head, and put a brigandine vpon him. 39Then girded Dauid his sword vpon his rayment, and began to go: for he neuer proued it: and Dauid sayde vnto Saul, I can not goe with these: for I am not accustomed. wherefore Dauid put them off him. 40Then tooke he his staffe in his hand, and chose him fiue smoothe stones out of a brooke, and put them in his shepheards bagge or skrippe, and his sling was in his hand, and he drewe neere to the Philistim.

41And the Philistim came and drew neere vnto Dauid, and the man that bare the shielde went before him. 42Now when the Philistim looked about & saw Dauid, he disdeined him: for he was but yong, ruddie, and of a comely face. 43And the Philistim sayde vnto Dauid, Am I a dog, that thou commest to me with staues? And the Philistim cursed Dauid by his gods. 44And the Philistim sayd to Dauid, Come to me, & I will giue thy flesh vnto the foules of the heauen, and to the beastes of the field. 45Then sayd Dauid to the Philistim, Thou commest to me with a sword, and with a speare, & with a shield, but I come to thee in the Name of the Lord of hostes, the God of the hoste of Israel, whom thou hast rayled vpon. 46This day shal the Lord close thee in mine hand, and I shall smite thee, and take thine head from thee, & I wil giue the carkeises of the hoste of the Philistims this daye vnto the foules of the heauen, & to the beasts of the earth, that all the world may know that Israel hath a God, 47And that all this assembly may know, that the Lord saueth not with sworde nor with speare (for the battel is the Lords) and he will giue you into our handes.

48And when the Philistim arose to come and drawe neere vnto Dauid, Dauid hasted and ran to fight against the Philistim. 49And Dauid put his hande in his bagge, and tooke out a stone, and slang it, & smote the Philistim in his forehead, that the stone sticked in his forehead, and he fell groueling to the earth.

50So Dauid ouercame the Philistim with a sling & with a stone, & smote the Philistim, and slew him, when Dauid had no sword in his hand. 51Then Dauid ranne, & stood vpon the Philistim, and tooke his sword and drew it out of his sheath, and slewe him, and cut off his head therewith. So whe the Philistims saw, that their champion was dead, they fled. 52And the men of Israel and Iudah arose, & shouted, and followed after the Philistims, vntill they came to the valley, & vnto the gates of Ekron: and the Philistims fell downe wounded by the way of Shaaraim, euen to Gath & to Ekron. 53And the children of Israel returned from pursuing the Philistims, & spoyled their tents. 54And Dauid tooke the head of ye Philistim, and brought it to Ierusalem, and put his armour in his tent.

55When Saul sawe Dauid go forth against the Philistim, he sayd vnto Abner the captaine of his hoste, Abner, whose sonne is this yong man? & Abner answered, As thy soule liueth, O King, I can not tell. 56Then the King sayde, Enquire thou whose sonne this yong man is. 57And when Dauid was returned from the slaughter of the Philistim, then Abner tooke him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistim in his hand. 58And Saul sayde to him, Whose sonne art thou, thou yong man? And Dauid answered, I am the sonne of thy seruant Ishai the Bethlehemite.