| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. | 1Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. |
| 2Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. | 2Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines. |
| 3So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them. | 3The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them. |
| 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! | 4Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height, |
| 5He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. | 5and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels, |
| 6He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. | 6and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. |
| 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. | 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. In addition, his shield bearer went before him. |
| 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! | 8And Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and array yourselves for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. |
| 9If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! | 9If he is able to fight 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 labor for us.” |
| 10I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” | 10Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!” |
| 11When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken. Jesse Sends David to Saul’s Camp | 11On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid. |
| 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. | 12Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons in the days of Saul. And Jesse was old and well along in years. |
| 13Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea —had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines. | 13The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. |
| 14David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, | 14And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul, |
| 15but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem. | 15but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem. |
| 16For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army. | 16For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening to take his stand. |
| 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. | 17One day 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. |
| 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. ” | 18Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them. |
| 19David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. | 19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” |
| 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. | 20So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry. |
| 21Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. | 21And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other. |
| 22David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. | 22Then David 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 doing. |
| 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. | 23And as he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistines and shouted his usual words, which David also heard. |
| 24As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. | 24When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear. |
| 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!” | 25Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxation in Israel.” |
| 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?” | 26David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” |
| 27And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.” | 27The people told him about the offer, saying, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.” |
| 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!” | 28Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!” |
| 29“What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” | 29“What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?” |
| 30He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. | 30Then he turned from him toward another and asked about the offer, and those people answered him just as the first ones had answered. |
| 31Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. David Kills Goliath | 31Now David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, who called for him. |
| 32“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” | 32And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!” |
| 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.” | 33But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” |
| 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, | 34David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, |
| 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. | 35I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. |
| 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! | 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.” |
| 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!” | 37David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.” |
| 38Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. | 38Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor. |
| 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. | 39David strapped his sword over the tunic and tried to walk, but he was not accustomed to them. “I cannot walk in these,” David said to Saul. “I am not accustomed to them.” So David took them off. |
| 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. | 40And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine. |
| 41Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, | 41Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him. |
| 42sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. | 42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome. |
| 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. | 43“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. |
| 44“Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. | 44“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” |
| 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. | 45But David 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 of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. |
| 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! | 46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. |
| 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!” | 47And all those assembled 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.” |
| 48As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. | 48As the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. |
| 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. | 49Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. |
| 50So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. | 50Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. |
| 51Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. Israel Routs the Philistines When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. | 51David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him; and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. |
| 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. | 52Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. And the bodies of the Philistines were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. |
| 53Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. | 53When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. |
| 54(David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.) | 54David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent. |
| 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. | 55As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.” |
| 56“Well, find out who he is!” the king told him. | 56“Find out whose son this young man is!” said the king. |
| 57As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. | 57So when David returned from killing the Philistine, still holding his head in his hand, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. |
| 58“Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said. And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.” | 58“Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied. |
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