¹² Now David was ^(A)the son of that ^(B)Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had ^(C)eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. ¹³ The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The ^(D)names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴ David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. ¹⁵ But David occasionally went and returned from Saul ^(E)to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

¹⁶ And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

¹⁷ Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. ¹⁸ And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and ^(F)see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” ¹⁹ Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰ So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. ²¹ For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. ²² And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. ²³ Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke ^(G)according to the same words. So David heard them. ²⁴ And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. ²⁵ So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, ^(H)will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”

²⁶ Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away ^(I)the reproach from Israel? For who is this ^(J)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^(K)defy the armies of ^(L)the living God?”

²⁷ And the people answered him in this manner, saying, ^(M)“So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸ Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s ^(N)anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

²⁹ And David said, “What have I done now? ^(O)Is^[a] there not a cause?” ³⁰ Then he turned from him toward another and ^(P)said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

³¹ Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.

⁵⁵ When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to ^(A)Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, ^(B)whose son is this youth?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

⁵⁶ So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”

⁵⁷ Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul ^(C)with the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸ And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

So David answered, ^(D)“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Saul Resents David

18 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, ^(E)the ^[a]soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, ^(F)and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² Saul took him that day, ^(G)and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. ³ Then Jonathan and David made a ^(H)covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

⁵ So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and ^[b]behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; ^(A)I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight ^(B)the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, ^(C)“Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸ So David said to Saul, ^(D)“Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹ But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to ^(E)Adriel the ^(F)Meholathite as a wife.