17Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.H6430H622H4264H4421H622H7755H3063H2583H7755H5825H6582Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines.H7586H376H3478H622H2583H6010H425H4421H6186H7125H64303The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.H6430H5975H2022H3478H5975H2022H15164A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall.H3318H376H1143H4264H6430H8034H1555H1661H1363H8337H520H22395He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels;H3553H5178H7218H3847H8302H7193H4948H8302H2568H505H8255H51786on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.H4697H5178H7272H3591H5178H38027His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.H6086H2671H2595H707H4500H2595H3852H8337H3967H8255H1270H5375H6793H1980H64408Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.H5975H7121H4634H3478H559H3318H4421H6186H6430H5650H7586H1262H376H33819If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us."H3201H3898H5221H5650H3201H5221H5650H564710Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other."H6430H559H2778H4634H3478H3117H5414H376H3898H316211On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.H7586H3478H8085H1697H6430H2865H3966H337212Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was old and well advanced in years.H1732H1121H376H673H1035H3063H8034H3448H8083H1121H376H935H582H2204H3117H758613Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah.H7969H1419H1121H3448H3212H310H7586H4421H8034H7969H1121H1980H4421H446H1060H4932H41H7992H804814David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul,H1732H6996H7969H1419H1980H310H758615but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem.H1732H1980H7725H7586H7462H1H6629H103516For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.H6430H5066H7925H6150H3320H705H311717Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.H3448H559H1732H1121H3947H251H374H2088H7039H6235H3899H7323H4264H25118Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them.H935H6235H2461H2757H8269H505H6485H251H7965H3947H616119They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."H7586H376H3478H6010H425H3898H643020Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.H1732H7925H1242H5203H6629H8104H5375H3212H3448H6680H935H4570H2428H3318H4634H7321H442121Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.H3478H6430H6186H4634H7125H463422David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers.H1732H5203H3627H3027H8104H3627H7323H4634H935H7592H7965H25123As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.H1696H5927H376H1143H6430H1661H1555H8034H4634H4630H6430H1696H428H1697H1732H808524When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.H376H3478H7200H376H5127H6440H3966H337225Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel."H376H3478H559H7200H376H5927H2778H3478H5927H376H5221H4428H6238H1419H6239H5414H1323H6213H1H1004H2670H347826David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"H1732H559H582H5975H559H6213H376H5221H1975H6430H5493H2781H3478H6189H6430H2778H4634H2416H43027They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him."H5971H559H1697H559H6213H376H522128When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."H446H1419H251H8085H1696H582H446H639H2734H1732H559H3381H5203H2007H4592H6629H4057H3045H2087H7455H3824H3381H7200H442129"Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?"H1732H559H6213H169730He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before.H5437H681H4136H312H559H1697H5971H1697H7725H7223H169731What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.H1697H8085H1732H1696H5046H6440H7586H394732David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."H1732H559H7586H120H3820H5307H5650H3212H3898H643033Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."H7586H559H1732H3201H3212H6430H3898H5288H376H4421H527134But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,H1732H559H7586H5650H7462H1H6629H935H738H1677H5375H7716H2089H573935I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.H3318H310H5221H5337H6310H6965H2388H2206H5221H419136Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.H5650H5221H738H1677H6189H6430H259H2778H4634H2416H43037The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."H1732H559H3068H5337H3027H738H3027H1677H5337H3027H6430H7586H559H1732H3212H306838Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.H7586H3847H1732H4055H5414H6959H5178H7218H3847H830239David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off.H1732H2296H2719H4055H2974H3212H5254H1732H559H7586H3201H3212H5254H1732H549340Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.H3947H4731H3027H977H2568H2512H68H5158H7760H7462H3627H3219H7050H3027H5066H643041Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.H6430H3212H1980H7131H1732H376H5375H6793H644042He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.H6430H5027H7200H1732H959H5288H132H3303H475843He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.H6430H559H1732H3611H935H4731H6430H7043H1732H43044"Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"H6430H559H1732H3212H5414H1320H5775H8064H929H770445David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.H559H1732H6430H935H2719H2595H3591H935H8034H3068H6635H430H4634H3478H277846This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.H3117H3068H5462H3027H5221H5493H7218H5414H6297H4264H6430H3117H5775H8064H2416H776H776H3045H3426H430H347847All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give all of you into our hands."H6951H3045H3068H3467H2719H2595H4421H3068H5414H302748As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.H6430H6965H3212H7126H7125H1732H1732H4116H7323H4634H7125H643049Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.H1732H7971H3027H3627H3947H68H7049H5221H6430H4696H68H2883H4696H5307H6440H77650So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.H1732H2388H4480H6430H7050H68H5221H6430H4191H2719H3027H173251David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.H1732H7323H5975H6430H3947H2719H8025H8593H4191H3772H7218H6430H7200H1368H4191H512752Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.H582H3478H3063H6965H7321H7291H6430H935H1516H8179H6138H2491H6430H5307H1870H8189H1661H613853When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.H1121H3478H7725H1814H310H6430H8155H426454David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.H1732H3947H7218H6430H935H3389H7760H3627H16855As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know."H7586H7200H1732H3318H7125H6430H559H74H8269H6635H74H1121H5288H74H559H5315H2416H4428H518H304556The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is."H4428H559H7592H1121H595857As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head.H1732H7725H5221H6430H74H3947H935H6440H7586H7218H6430H302758"Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."H7586H559H1121H5288H1732H559H1121H5650H3448H1022
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