1Samuel 17 - Prayer Tents



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1Samuel 17
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Goliath Challenges the Israelites

17The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.H6430H622H4264H4421H622H7755H3063H2583H7755H5825H658 2Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah.H7586H376H3478H622H2583H6010H425H4421H6186H7125H6430 3So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.H6430H5975H2022H3478H5975H2022H1516 4Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!H3318H376H1143H4264H6430H8034H1555H1661H1363H8337H520H2239 5He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds.H3553H5178H7218H3847H8302H7193H4948H8302H2568H505H8255H5178 6He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder.H4697H5178H7272H3591H5178H3802 7The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver's beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.H6086H2671H2595H707H4500H2595H3852H8337H3967H8255H1270H5375H6793H1980H6440 8Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. "Why are you all coming out to fight?" he called. "I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me!H5975H7121H4634H3478H559H3318H4421H6186H6430H5650H7586H1262H376H3381 9If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!H3201H3898H5221H5650H3201H5221H5650H5647 10I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!"H6430H559H2778H4634H3478H3117H5414H376H3898H3162 11When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.H7586H3478H8085H1697H6430H2865H3966H3372

Jesse Sends David to Saul’s Camp

12Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons.H1732H1121H376H673H1035H3063H8034H3448H8083H1121H376H935H582H2204H3117H7586 13Jesse's three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea—had already joined Saul's army to fight the Philistines.H7969H1419H1121H3448H3212H310H7586H4421H8034H7969H1121H1980H4421H446H1060H4932H41H7992H8048 14David was the youngest son. David's three oldest brothers stayed with Saul's army,H1732H6996H7969H1419H1980H310H7586 15but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.H1732H1980H7725H7586H7462H1H6629H1035 16For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.H6430H5066H7925H6150H3320H705H3117 17One day Jesse said to David, "Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers.H3448H559H1732H1121H3947H251H374H2088H7039H6235H3899H7323H4264H251 18And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing."H935H6235H2461H2757H8269H505H6485H251H7965H3947H6161 19David's brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.H7586H376H3478H6010H425H3898H6430 20So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.H1732H7925H1242H5203H6629H8104H5375H3212H3448H6680H935H4570H2428H3318H4634H7321H4421 21Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army.H3478H6430H6186H4634H7125H4634 22David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers.H1732H5203H3627H3027H8104H3627H7323H4634H935H7592H7965H251 23As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.H1696H5927H376H1143H6430H1661H1555H8034H4634H4630H6430H1696H428H1697H1732H8085 24As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.H376H3478H7200H376H5127H6440H3966H3372 25"Have you seen the giant?" the men asked. "He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man's entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!"H376H3478H559H7200H376H5927H2778H3478H5927H376H5221H4428H6238H1419H6239H5414H1323H6213H1H1004H2670H3478 26David asked the soldiers standing nearby, "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?"H1732H559H582H5975H559H6213H376H5221H1975H6430H5493H2781H3478H6189H6430H2778H4634H2416H430 27And these men gave David the same reply. They said, "Yes, that is the reward for killing him."H5971H559H1697H559H6213H376H5221 28But when David's oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. "What are you doing around here anyway?" he demanded. "What about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!"H446H1419H251H8085H1696H582H446H639H2734H1732H559H3381H5203H2007H4592H6629H4057H3045H2087H7455H3824H3381H7200H4421 29"What have I done now?" David replied. "I was only asking a question!"H1732H559H6213H1697 30He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.H5437H681H4136H312H559H1697H5971H1697H7725H7223H1697 31Then David's question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.H1697H8085H1732H1696H5046H6440H7586H3947

David Kills Goliath

32"Don't worry about this Philistine," David told Saul. "I'll go fight him!"H1732H559H7586H120H3820H5307H5650H3212H3898H6430 33"Don't be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war since his youth."H7586H559H1732H3201H3212H6430H3898H5288H376H4421H5271 34But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock,H1732H559H7586H5650H7462H1H6629H935H738H1677H5375H7716H2089H5739 35I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.H3318H310H5221H5337H6310H6965H2388H2206H5221H4191 36I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!H5650H5221H738H1677H6189H6430H259H2778H4634H2416H430 37The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!" Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!"H1732H559H3068H5337H3027H738H3027H1677H5337H3027H6430H7586H559H1732H3212H3068 38Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.H7586H3847H1732H4055H5414H6959H5178H7218H3847H8302 39David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. "I can't go in these," he protested to Saul. "I'm not used to them." So David took them off again.H1732H2296H2719H4055H2974H3212H5254H1732H559H7586H3201H3212H5254H1732H5493 40He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd's bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd's staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.H3947H4731H3027H977H2568H2512H68H5158H7760H7462H3627H3219H7050H3027H5066H6430 41Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him,H6430H3212H1980H7131H1732H376H5375H6793H6440 42sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy.H6430H5027H7200H1732H959H5288H132H3303H4758 43"Am I a dog," he roared at David, "that you come at me with a stick?" And he cursed David by the names of his gods.H6430H559H1732H3611H935H4731H6430H7043H1732H430 44"Come over here, and I'll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!" Goliath yelled.H6430H559H1732H3212H5414H1320H5775H8064H929H7704 45David replied to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.H559H1732H6430H935H2719H2595H3591H935H8034H3068H6635H430H4634H3478H2778 46Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!H3117H3068H5462H3027H5221H5493H7218H5414H6297H4264H6430H3117H5775H8064H2416H776H776H3045H3426H430H3478 47And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD's battle, and he will give you to us!"H6951H3045H3068H3467H2719H2595H4421H3068H5414H3027 48As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.H6430H6965H3212H7126H7125H1732H1732H4116H7323H4634H7125H6430 49Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.H1732H7971H3027H3627H3947H68H7049H5221H6430H4696H68H2883H4696H5307H6440H776 50So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.H1732H2388H4480H6430H7050H68H5221H6430H4191H2719H3027H1732

Israel Routs the Philistines

51Then David ran over and pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.H1732H7323H5975H6430H3947H2719H8025H8593H4191H3772H7218H6430H7200H1368H4191H5127 52Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.H582H3478H3063H6965H7321H7291H6430H935H1516H8179H6138H2491H6430H5307H1870H8189H1661H6138 53Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.H1121H3478H7725H1814H310H6430H8155H4264 54(David took the Philistine's head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man's armor in his own tent.)H1732H3947H7218H6430H935H3389H7760H3627H168 55As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, "Abner, whose son is this young man?" "I really don't know," Abner declared.H7586H7200H1732H3318H7125H6430H559H74H8269H6635H74H1121H5288H74H559H5315H2416H4428H518H3045 56"Well, find out who he is!" the king told him.H4428H559H7592H1121H5958 57As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand.H1732H7725H5221H6430H74H3947H935H6440H7586H7218H6430H3027 58"Tell me about your father, young man," Saul said. And David replied, "His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem."H7586H559H1121H5288H1732H559H1121H5650H3448H1022


New Living Translation (NLT). Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. More details.
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