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1 Samuel 15-17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 Samuel 15-17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Saul Defeats the Amalekites but Spares Their King
15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.(A) 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.(B) 3 Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”(C)
4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand soldiers of Judah. 5 Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go! Leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you with them, for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.(D) 7 Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.(E) 8 He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.(F) 9 Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatted calves,[a] and the lambs, and all that was valuable and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.(G)
Saul Rejected as King
10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all night.(H) 12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal.”(I) 13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord.”(J) 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we have utterly destroyed.”(K) 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” He replied, “Speak.”
17 Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.(L) 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’(M) 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”(N) 20 Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.(O) 21 But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”(P) 22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice
and to heed than the fat of rams.(Q)
23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”(R)
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.(S) 25 Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” 26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”(T) 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.(U) 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.(V) 29 Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not deceive or change his mind, for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.”(W) 30 Then Saul[b] said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.”(X) 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” And Agag came to him haltingly.[c] Agag said, “Surely death is bitter.”[d] 33 Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother shall be childless among women.”
And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.(Y)
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.(Z) 35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.(AA)
David Anointed as King
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”(AB) 2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’(AC) 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.”(AD) 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”(AE) 5 He said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.(AF)
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely his anointed is now before the Lord.”(AG) 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”(AH) 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”(AI) 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”(AJ) 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”(AK) 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.”(AL) 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.(AM)
David Plays the Lyre for Saul
14 Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.(AN) 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.”(AO) 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”(AP) 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid and sent them by his son David to Saul.(AQ) 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul[e] loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.(AR) 22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.(AS)
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.(AT) 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah and formed ranks against the Philistines.(AU) 3 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. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was four[f] cubits and a span.(AV) 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.(AW) 7 The 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.(AX) 8 He 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[g] a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.(AY) 9 If 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.” 10 And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.”(AZ) 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 Now 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.[h](BA) 13 The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.(BB) 14 David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.(BC) 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; 18 also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.”(BD)
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. 20 David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, 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.(BE)
24 All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. 25 The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.”(BF) 26 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?”(BG) 27 The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”(BH)
28 His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men, and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? 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 just to see the battle.”(BI) 29 David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.”(BJ) 30 He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.(BK)
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”(BL) 33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”(BM)
38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.(BN) 43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.(BO) 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.”(BP) 45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and 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.(BQ) 46 This very 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 Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel(BR) 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”(BS)
48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.(BT) 52 The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath[i] and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.(BU) 53 The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”(BV) 56 The king said, “Inquire whose son the young man is.” 57 On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.(BW) 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”(BX)
1 Samuel 15-17
New International Version
1 Samuel 15-17
New International Version
The Lord Rejects Saul as King
15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint(A) you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites(B) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally(C) destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites,(D) “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites(E) all the way from Havilah to Shur,(F) near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag(G) king of the Amalekites alive,(H) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared(I) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret(J) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned(K) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”(L) Samuel was angry,(M) and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel.(N) There he has set up a monument(O) in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul replied.
17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small(P) in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder(Q) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey(R) the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,(S)
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(T)
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected(U) the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.(V) I violated(W) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid(X) of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive(Y) my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected(Z) the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe,(AA) and it tore.(AB) 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn(AC) the kingdom(AD) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.(AE) 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie(AF) or change(AG) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
30 Saul replied, “I have sinned.(AH) But please honor(AI) me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to him in chains.[c] And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33 But Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women.”(AJ)
And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left for Ramah,(AK) but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah(AL) of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel(AM) died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned(AN) for him. And the Lord regretted(AO) that he had made Saul king over Israel.
Samuel Anoints David
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn(AP) for Saul, since I have rejected(AQ) him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil(AR) and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse(AS) of Bethlehem. I have chosen(AT) one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show(AU) you what to do. You are to anoint(AV) for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem,(AW) the elders of the town trembled(AX) when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?(AY)”
5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate(AZ) yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab(BA) and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance,(BB) but the Lord looks at the heart.”(BC)
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab(BD) and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah(BE) pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all(BF) the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”(BG)
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he(BH) sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome(BI) features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed(BJ) him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord(BK) came powerfully upon David.(BL) Samuel then went to Ramah.
David in Saul’s Service
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed(BM) from Saul, and an evil[d] spirit(BN) from the Lord tormented him.(BO)
15 Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre.(BP) He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.”
17 So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse(BQ) of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior.(BR) He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with(BS) him.”
19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.(BT)” 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread,(BU) a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
21 David came to Saul and entered his service.(BV) Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”
23 Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit(BW) would leave him.
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled(BX) at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh(BY) and Azekah.(BZ) 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah(CA) and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath,(CB) who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.[e] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[f]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin(CC) was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod,(CD) and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[g] His shield bearer(CE) went ahead of him.
8 Goliath 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(CF) a man and have him come down to me. 9 If 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.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy(CG) the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.(CH)” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite(CI) named Jesse,(CJ) who was from Bethlehem(CK) in Judah. Jesse had eight(CL) sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab;(CM) the second, Abinadab;(CN) and the third, Shammah.(CO) 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend(CP) his father’s sheep(CQ) at Bethlehem.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[h](CR) of roasted grain(CS) and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers(CT) are and bring back some assurance[i] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of 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. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies,(CU) ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual(CV) defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
25 Now 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(CW) in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes(CX) in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace(CY) from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised(CZ) Philistine that he should defy(DA) the armies of the living(DB) God?”
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger(DC) at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart(DD) on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied,(DE) “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion(DF) or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized(DG) it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion(DH) and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued(DI) me from the paw of the lion(DJ) and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with(DK) you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own(DL) tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David 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. 40 Then 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.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer(DM) in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome,(DN) and he despised(DO) him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog,(DP) that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds(DQ) and the wild animals!(DR)”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,(DS) but I come against you in the name(DT) of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.(DU) 46 This day the Lord will deliver(DV) you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses(DW) of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world(DX) will know that there is a God in Israel.(DY) 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword(DZ) or spear that the Lord saves;(EA) for the battle(EB) is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching 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.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling(EC) and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut(ED) off his head with the sword.(EE)
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[j] and to the gates of Ekron.(EF) Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim(EG) road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David(EH) going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner,(EI) whose son is that young man?”
Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.
58 “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.
David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse(EJ) of Bethlehem.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20 and 21.
- 1 Samuel 15:9 Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- 1 Samuel 15:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- 1 Samuel 16:14 Or and a harmful; similarly in verses 15, 16 and 23
- 1 Samuel 17:4 That is, about 9 feet 9 inches or about 3 meters
- 1 Samuel 17:5 That is, about 125 pounds or about 58 kilograms
- 1 Samuel 17:7 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
- 1 Samuel 17:17 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- 1 Samuel 17:18 Or some token; or some pledge of spoils
- 1 Samuel 17:52 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew of a valley
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