Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version

1The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

1Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

2Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.

2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.

3The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them.

3And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

4Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall

4And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

5and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds.

5He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.

6There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders.

6And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.

7His spear shaft was like a weaver's beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him.

7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.

8He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations: "Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?" He asked them, "Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.

8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.

9If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us."

9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”

10Then the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!"

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

11When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

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

12Now David was the son of the Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons and during Saul's reign was already an old man.

12Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.

13Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names were Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third,

13The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14and David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,

14David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,

15but David kept going back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock in Bethlehem.

15but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16Every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand.

16For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

17One day Jesse had told his son David: "Take this half-bushel of roasted grain along with these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.

17And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.

18Also take these ten portions of cheese to the field commander. Check on the well-being of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them.

18Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines."

19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had charged him. He arrived at the perimeter of the camp as the army was marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry.

20And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.

21Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other.

21And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.

22David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were.

22And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.

23While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, which David heard.

23As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

24When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.

24All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.

25Previously, an Israelite man had declared: "Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the family of that man's father exempt from paying taxes in Israel."

25And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”

26David spoke to the men who were standing with him: "What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

26And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

27The troops told him about the offer, concluding, "That is what will be done for the man who kills him."

27And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

28David's oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him. "Why did you come down here?" he asked. "Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart--you came down to see the battle!"

28Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

29"What have I done now?" protested David. "It was just a question."

29And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”

30Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before.

30And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

31What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him.

31When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.

32David said to Saul, "Don't let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!"

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

33But Saul replied, "You can't go fight this Philistine. You're just a youth, and he's been a warrior since he was young."

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

34David answered Saul: "Your servant has been tending his father's sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

34But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,

35I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.

35I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."

36Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

37Then David said, "The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you."

37And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

38Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David's head and had him put on armor.

38Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,

39David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. "I can't walk in these," David said to Saul, "I'm not used to them." So David took them off.

39and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.

40Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd's bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

40Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

41The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him.

41And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.

42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome.

42And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

43He said to David, "Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?" Then he cursed David by his gods.

43And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44"Come here," the Philistine called to David, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!"

44The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

45David said to the Philistine: "You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel--you have defied him.

45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

46Today, the LORD will hand you over to me. Today, I'll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,

46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

47and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD's. He will hand you over to us."

47and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

48When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.

48When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

49David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground.

49And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

50David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword.

50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.

51David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine's sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.

51Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

52The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

52And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.

53When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.

53And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.

54David took Goliath's head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath's weapons in his own tent.

54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, "Whose son is this youth, Abner?" "Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don't know," Abner replied.

55As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

56The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is!"

56And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.”

57When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand.

57And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

58Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" "The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem," David answered.

58And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.