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1 Samuel 17
Easy-to-Read Version
1 Samuel 17
Easy-to-Read Version
Goliath Challenges Israel
17 The Philistines gathered their armies together for war. They met at Socoh in Judah. Their camp was between Socoh and Azekah, at a town called Ephes Dammim.
2 Saul and the Israelite soldiers also gathered together. Their camp was in the Valley of Elah. Saul’s soldiers were lined up and ready to fight the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were on one hill. The Israelites were on the other hill. The valley was between them.
4 The Philistines had a champion fighter named Goliath, who was from Gath. He was over 9 feet[a] tall. Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a coat of armor that was made like the scales on a fish. This armor was made of bronze and weighed about 125 pounds.[b] 6 Goliath wore bronze protectors on his legs. He had a bronze javelin tied on his back. 7 The wooden part of his spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. The spear’s blade weighed 15 pounds.[c] Goliath’s helper walked in front of him, carrying Goliath’s shield.
8 Each day Goliath would come out and shout a challenge to the Israelite soldiers. He would say, “Why are all of your soldiers lined up ready for battle? You are Saul’s servants. I am a Philistine. So choose one man and send him to fight me. 9 If that man kills me, he wins and we Philistines will become your slaves. But if I kill your man, then I win, and you will become our slaves. You will have to serve us.”
10 The Philistine also said, “Today I stand and make fun of the army of Israel. I dare you to send me one of your men and let us fight.”
11 Saul and the Israelite soldiers heard what Goliath said, and they were very afraid.
David Goes to the Battle Front
12 [d] David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was from the Ephrathah family in Bethlehem, Judah. Jesse had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons went with Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. 14 David was the youngest son. The three oldest sons were in Saul’s army, 15 but David left Saul from time to time to take care of his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 The Philistine came out every morning and evening and stood before the Israelite army. Goliath insulted Israel like this for 40 days.
17 One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this basket[e] of cooked grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers in the camp. 18 Also take these ten pieces of cheese for the officer who commands your brothers’ group of 1000 soldiers. See how your brothers are doing. Bring back something to show me your brothers are all right. 19 Your brothers are with Saul and all the Israelite soldiers in the Valley of Elah. They are there to fight against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning, David had another shepherd take care of the sheep while he took the food and left as Jesse had told him to. David drove their wagon to the camp. The soldiers were going out to their battle positions just as David arrived. The soldiers began shouting their war cry. 21 The Israelites and Philistines were lined up and ready for battle.
22 David left the food with the man who kept supplies. Then he ran to the place where the Israelite soldiers were and asked about his brothers. 23 While David was talking with his brothers, the Philistine champion fighter came out from the Philistine army. This was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath. Goliath shouted things against Israel as usual. David heard what he said.
24 The Israelite soldiers saw Goliath and ran away. They were all afraid of him. 25 One of the Israelite men said, “Did you see that man? Look at him! He comes out each day and makes fun of Israel. Whoever kills him will get rich. King Saul will give him a lot of money. Saul will also let his daughter marry the man who kills Goliath. He will also make that man’s family free from taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What did he say? What is the reward for killing this Philistine and taking away this shame from Israel? Who is this Goliath anyway? He is only some foreigner,[f] nothing but a Philistine. Why does he think he can speak against the army of the living God?”
27 So the Israelite told David about the reward for killing Goliath. 28 David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers and became angry. Eliab asked David, “Why did you come here? Who did you leave those few sheep with in the desert? I know why you came down here. You didn’t want to do what you were told to do. You just wanted to come down here to watch the battle.”
29 David said, “What did I do now? I didn’t do anything wrong! I was only talking.” 30 He turned to some other people and asked them the same questions. They gave him the same answers as before.
31 Some men heard David talking. They took David to Saul and told him what David had said. 32 David said to Saul, “People shouldn’t let Goliath discourage them. I am your servant. I will go fight this Philistine.”
33 Saul answered, “You can’t go out and fight against this Philistine. You’re not even a soldier![g] Goliath has been fighting in wars since he was a boy.”
34 But David said to Saul, “There were times when I was taking care of my father’s sheep that wild animals came to take some sheep from the flock. Once there was a lion and another time, a bear. 35 I chased that wild animal, attacked it, and took the sheep from its mouth. The wild animal jumped on me, but I caught it by the fur under its mouth. And I hit it and killed it. 36 I killed both a lion and a bear like that! And I will kill that foreigner, Goliath, just like them. Goliath will die because he made fun of the army of the living God. 37 The Lord saved me from the lion and the bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and armor on his body. 39 David put on the sword and tried to walk around. He tried to wear Saul’s uniform, but David was not used to all those heavy things.
David said to Saul, “I can’t fight in these things. I’m not used to them.” So David took them all off. 40 He took his walking stick in his hand and went to find five smooth stones from the stream. He put the five stones in his shepherd’s bag and held his sling in his hand. Then he went out to meet the Philistine.
David Kills Goliath
41 The Philistine slowly walked closer and closer to David. Goliath’s helper walked in front of him, carrying a large shield. 42 Goliath looked at David with disgust. He saw that David was only a handsome, healthy[h] boy.[i] 43 Goliath said to David, “What is that stick for? Did you come to chase me away like a dog?” Then Goliath used the names of his gods to say curses against David. 44 He said to David, “Come here, and I’ll feed your body to the birds and wild animals.”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said bad things about him. 46 Today the Lord will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel. 47 All the people gathered here will know that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the Lord, and he will help us defeat all of you.”
48 Goliath the Philistine started to attack David. He slowly walked closer and closer toward David, but David ran out to meet Goliath.
49 David took out a stone from his bag. He put it in his sling and swung the sling. The stone flew from the sling and hit Goliath right between the eyes. The stone sank deep into his head, and Goliath fell to the ground—face down.
50 So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and one stone! He hit the Philistine and killed him. David didn’t have a sword, 51 so he ran and stood beside the Philistine. Then David took Goliath’s own sword out of its sheath and used it to cut off his head. That is how David killed the Philistine.
When the other Philistines saw their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 The soldiers of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. The Israelites chased them all the way to the city limits of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. They killed many of the Philistines. Their bodies were scattered along the Shaaraim road all the way to Gath and Ekron. 53 After chasing the Philistines, the Israelites came back to the Philistine camp and took many things from that camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he kept the Philistine’s weapons at home.
Saul Begins to Fear David
55 Saul watched David go out to fight Goliath. Saul spoke to Abner, the commander of the army. “Abner, who is that young man’s father?”
Abner answered, “I swear I don’t know, sir.”
56 King Saul said, “Find out who his father is.”
57 When David came back after killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul. David was still holding the Philistine’s head.
58 Saul asked him, “Young man, who is your father?”
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse, from Bethlehem.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 17:4 over 9 feet Literally, “6 cubits and 1 span” (2.9 m). Josephus, most copies of the ancient Greek version, and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran all have “4 cubits and 1 span.” This is 6' 6" (2 m) for the short cubit or 7' 7" (2.33 m) for the long cubit.
- 1 Samuel 17:5 125 pounds Literally, “5000 shekels” (57.5 kg).
- 1 Samuel 17:7 15 pounds Literally, “600 shekels” (6.9 kg).
- 1 Samuel 17:12 The oldest copies of the ancient Greek version do not have 17:12-31, 41, 48b, 50, 55-58; 18:1-5, 10-11, 17-19, 29b-30.
- 1 Samuel 17:17 basket Literally, “ephah.”
- 1 Samuel 17:26 foreigner Literally, “uncircumcised.” This means a person who did not share in the agreement God made with Israel. See “circumcise, circumcision” in the Word List. Also in verse 36.
- 1 Samuel 17:33 You’re not even a soldier Or “You are only a boy!” The Hebrew word for “boy” often means “servant” or “the helper who carries a soldier’s weapons.”
- 1 Samuel 17:42 healthy The Hebrew word means “red,” “ruddy,” or “red-haired.”
- 1 Samuel 17:42 boy Or “teenager” or “soldier’s helper.”
1 Samuel 17
New International Version
1 Samuel 17
New International Version
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled(A) at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh(B) and Azekah.(C) 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah(D) 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,(E) who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.[a] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[b]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin(F) was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod,(G) and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[c] His shield bearer(H) 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(I) 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(J) the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.(K)” 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(L) named Jesse,(M) who was from Bethlehem(N) in Judah. Jesse had eight(O) 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;(P) the second, Abinadab;(Q) and the third, Shammah.(R) 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend(S) his father’s sheep(T) 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[d](U) of roasted grain(V) 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(W) are and bring back some assurance[e] 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,(X) 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(Y) 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(Z) in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes(AA) 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(AB) from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised(AC) Philistine that he should defy(AD) the armies of the living(AE) 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(AF) 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(AG) on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied,(AH) “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(AI) 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(AJ) it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion(AK) 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(AL) me from the paw of the lion(AM) 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(AN) you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own(AO) 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(AP) 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,(AQ) and he despised(AR) him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog,(AS) 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(AT) and the wild animals!(AU)”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,(AV) but I come against you in the name(AW) of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.(AX) 46 This day the Lord will deliver(AY) you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses(AZ) of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world(BA) will know that there is a God in Israel.(BB) 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword(BC) or spear that the Lord saves;(BD) for the battle(BE) 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(BF) 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(BG) off his head with the sword.(BH)
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[f] and to the gates of Ekron.(BI) Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim(BJ) 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(BK) going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner,(BL) 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(BM) of Bethlehem.”
Footnotes
- 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
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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