Worthy.Bible » Parallel » 1 Samuel » Chapter 17 » Verse 1-58

1 Samuel 17:1-58 King James Version (KJV)

1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.

2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

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

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

5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.

7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.

8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

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

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.

15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

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

17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren;

18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

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

20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

38 And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

39 And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.

48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.

53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.

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

55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.

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

58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.


1 Samuel 17:1-58 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Now the Philistines H6430 gathered together H622 their armies H4264 to battle, H4421 and were gathered together H622 at Shochoh, H7755 which belongeth to Judah, H3063 and pitched H2583 between Shochoh H7755 and Azekah, H5825 in Ephesdammim. H658

2 And Saul H7586 and the men H376 of Israel H3478 were gathered together, H622 and pitched H2583 by the valley H6010 of Elah, H425 and set the battle H4421 in array H6186 against H7125 the Philistines. H6430

3 And the Philistines H6430 stood H5975 on a mountain H2022 on the one side, and Israel H3478 stood H5975 on a mountain H2022 on the other side: and there was a valley H1516 between them.

4 And there went out H3318 a champion H376 H1143 out of the camp H4264 of the Philistines, H6430 named H8034 Goliath, H1555 of Gath, H1661 whose height H1363 was six H8337 cubits H520 and a span. H2239

5 And he had an helmet H3553 of brass H5178 upon his head, H7218 and he was armed H3847 with a coat H8302 of mail; H7193 and the weight H4948 of the coat H8302 was five H2568 thousand H505 shekels H8255 of brass. H5178

6 And he had greaves H4697 of brass H5178 upon his legs, H7272 and a target H3591 of brass H5178 between his shoulders. H3802

7 And the staff H6086 H2671 of his spear H2595 was like a weaver's H707 beam; H4500 and his spear's H2595 head H3852 weighed six H8337 hundred H3967 shekels H8255 of iron: H1270 and one bearing H5375 a shield H6793 went H1980 before H6440 him.

8 And he stood H5975 and cried H7121 unto the armies H4634 of Israel, H3478 and said H559 unto them, Why are ye come out H3318 to set your battle H4421 in array? H6186 am not I a Philistine, H6430 and ye servants H5650 to Saul? H7586 choose H1262 you a man H376 for you, and let him come down H3381 to me.

9 If he be able H3201 to fight H3898 with me, and to kill H5221 me, then will we be your servants: H5650 but if I prevail H3201 against him, and kill H5221 him, then shall ye be our servants, H5650 and serve H5647 us.

10 And the Philistine H6430 said, H559 I defy H2778 the armies H4634 of Israel H3478 this day; H3117 give H5414 me a man, H376 that we may fight H3898 together. H3162

11 When Saul H7586 and all Israel H3478 heard H8085 those words H1697 of the Philistine, H6430 they were dismayed, H2865 and greatly H3966 afraid. H3372

12 Now David H1732 was the son H1121 of that Ephrathite H376 H673 of Bethlehemjudah, H1035 H3063 whose name H8034 was Jesse; H3448 and he had eight H8083 sons: H1121 and the man H376 went H935 among men H582 for an old man H2204 in the days H3117 of Saul. H7586

13 And the three H7969 eldest H1419 sons H1121 of Jesse H3448 went H3212 and followed H310 Saul H7586 to the battle: H4421 and the names H8034 of his three H7969 sons H1121 that went H1980 to the battle H4421 were Eliab H446 the firstborn, H1060 and next H4932 unto him Abinadab, H41 and the third H7992 Shammah. H8048

14 And David H1732 was the youngest: H6996 and the three H7969 eldest H1419 followed H1980 H310 Saul. H7586

15 But David H1732 went H1980 and returned H7725 from Saul H7586 to feed H7462 his father's H1 sheep H6629 at Bethlehem. H1035

16 And the Philistine H6430 drew near H5066 morning H7925 and evening, H6150 and presented H3320 himself forty H705 days. H3117

17 And Jesse H3448 said H559 unto David H1732 his son, H1121 Take H3947 now for thy brethren H251 an ephah H374 of this H2088 parched H7039 corn, and these ten H6235 loaves, H3899 and run H7323 to the camp H4264 to thy brethren; H251

18 And carry H935 these ten H6235 cheeses H2461 H2757 unto the captain H8269 of their thousand, H505 and look H6485 how thy brethren H251 fare, H7965 and take H3947 their pledge. H6161

19 Now Saul, H7586 and they, and all the men H376 of Israel, H3478 were in the valley H6010 of Elah, H425 fighting H3898 with the Philistines. H6430

20 And David H1732 rose up early H7925 in the morning, H1242 and left H5203 the sheep H6629 with a keeper, H8104 and took, H5375 and went, H3212 as Jesse H3448 had commanded H6680 him; and he came H935 to the trench, H4570 as the host H2428 was going forth H3318 to the fight, H4634 and shouted H7321 for the battle. H4421

21 For Israel H3478 and the Philistines H6430 had put the battle in array, H6186 army H4634 against H7125 army. H4634

22 And David H1732 left H5203 his carriage H3627 in the hand H3027 of the keeper H8104 of the carriage, H3627 and ran H7323 into the army, H4634 and came H935 and saluted H7592 H7965 his brethren. H251

23 And as he talked H1696 with them, behold, there came up H5927 the champion, H376 H1143 the Philistine H6430 of Gath, H1661 Goliath H1555 by name, H8034 out of the armies H4634 H4630 of the Philistines, H6430 and spake H1696 according to the same H428 words: H1697 and David H1732 heard H8085 them.

24 And all the men H376 of Israel, H3478 when they saw H7200 the man, H376 fled H5127 from him, H6440 and were sore H3966 afraid. H3372

25 And the men H376 of Israel H3478 said, H559 Have ye seen H7200 this man H376 that is come up? H5927 surely to defy H2778 Israel H3478 is he come up: H5927 and it shall be, that the man H376 who killeth H5221 him, the king H4428 will enrich H6238 him with great H1419 riches, H6239 and will give H5414 him his daughter, H1323 and make H6213 his father's H1 house H1004 free H2670 in Israel. H3478

26 And David H1732 spake H559 to the men H582 that stood H5975 by him, saying, H559 What shall be done H6213 to the man H376 that killeth H5221 this H1975 Philistine, H6430 and taketh away H5493 the reproach H2781 from Israel? H3478 for who is this uncircumcised H6189 Philistine, H6430 that he should defy H2778 the armies H4634 of the living H2416 God? H430

27 And the people H5971 answered H559 him after this manner, H1697 saying, H559 So shall it be done H6213 to the man H376 that killeth H5221 him.

28 And Eliab H446 his eldest H1419 brother H251 heard H8085 when he spake H1696 unto the men; H582 and Eliab's H446 anger H639 was kindled H2734 against David, H1732 and he said, H559 Why camest thou down H3381 hither? and with whom hast thou left H5203 those H2007 few H4592 sheep H6629 in the wilderness? H4057 I know H3045 thy pride, H2087 and the naughtiness H7455 of thine heart; H3824 for thou art come down H3381 that thou mightest see H7200 the battle. H4421

29 And David H1732 said, H559 What have I now done? H6213 Is there not a cause? H1697

30 And he turned H5437 from him H681 toward H4136 another, H312 and spake H559 after the same manner: H1697 and the people H5971 answered H1697 him again H7725 after the former H7223 manner. H1697

31 And when the words H1697 were heard H8085 which David H1732 spake, H1696 they rehearsed H5046 them before H6440 Saul: H7586 and he sent H3947 for him.

32 And David H1732 said H559 to Saul, H7586 Let no man's H120 heart H3820 fail H5307 because of him; thy servant H5650 will go H3212 and fight H3898 with this Philistine. H6430

33 And Saul H7586 said H559 to David, H1732 Thou art not able H3201 to go H3212 against this Philistine H6430 to fight H3898 with him: for thou art but a youth, H5288 and he a man H376 of war H4421 from his youth. H5271

34 And David H1732 said H559 unto Saul, H7586 Thy servant H5650 kept H7462 his father's H1 sheep, H6629 and there came H935 a lion, H738 and a bear, H1677 and took H5375 a lamb H7716 H2089 out of the flock: H5739

35 And I went out H3318 after H310 him, and smote H5221 him, and delivered H5337 it out of his mouth: H6310 and when he arose H6965 against me, I caught H2388 him by his beard, H2206 and smote H5221 him, and slew H4191 him.

36 Thy servant H5650 slew H5221 both the lion H738 and the bear: H1677 and this uncircumcised H6189 Philistine H6430 shall be as one H259 of them, seeing he hath defied H2778 the armies H4634 of the living H2416 God. H430

37 David H1732 said H559 moreover, The LORD H3068 that delivered H5337 me out of the paw H3027 of the lion, H738 and out of the paw H3027 of the bear, H1677 he will deliver H5337 me out of the hand H3027 of this Philistine. H6430 And Saul H7586 said H559 unto David, H1732 Go, H3212 and the LORD H3068 be with thee.

38 And Saul H7586 armed H3847 David H1732 with his armour, H4055 and he put H5414 an helmet H6959 of brass H5178 upon his head; H7218 also he armed H3847 him with a coat of mail. H8302

39 And David H1732 girded H2296 his sword H2719 upon his armour, H4055 and he assayed H2974 to go; H3212 for he had not proved H5254 it. And David H1732 said H559 unto Saul, H7586 I cannot H3201 go H3212 with these; for I have not proved H5254 them. And David H1732 put H5493 them off him.

40 And he took H3947 his staff H4731 in his hand, H3027 and chose H977 him five H2568 smooth H2512 stones H68 out of the brook, H5158 and put H7760 them in a shepherd's H7462 bag H3627 which he had, even in a scrip; H3219 and his sling H7050 was in his hand: H3027 and he drew near H5066 to the Philistine. H6430

41 And the Philistine H6430 came H3212 on H1980 and drew near H7131 unto David; H1732 and the man H376 that bare H5375 the shield H6793 went before H6440 him.

42 And when the Philistine H6430 looked about, H5027 and saw H7200 David, H1732 he disdained H959 him: for he was but a youth, H5288 and ruddy, H132 and of a fair H3303 countenance. H4758

43 And the Philistine H6430 said H559 unto David, H1732 Am I a dog, H3611 that thou comest H935 to me with staves? H4731 And the Philistine H6430 cursed H7043 David H1732 by his gods. H430

44 And the Philistine H6430 said H559 to David, H1732 Come H3212 to me, and I will give H5414 thy flesh H1320 unto the fowls H5775 of the air, H8064 and to the beasts H929 of the field. H7704

45 Then said H559 David H1732 to the Philistine, H6430 Thou comest H935 to me with a sword, H2719 and with a spear, H2595 and with a shield: H3591 but I come H935 to thee in the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of the armies H4634 of Israel, H3478 whom thou hast defied. H2778

46 This day H3117 will the LORD H3068 deliver H5462 thee into mine hand; H3027 and I will smite H5221 thee, and take H5493 thine head H7218 from thee; and I will give H5414 the carcases H6297 of the host H4264 of the Philistines H6430 this day H3117 unto the fowls H5775 of the air, H8064 and to the wild beasts H2416 of the earth; H776 that all the earth H776 may know H3045 that there is H3426 a God H430 in Israel. H3478

47 And all this assembly H6951 shall know H3045 that the LORD H3068 saveth H3467 not with sword H2719 and spear: H2595 for the battle H4421 is the LORD'S, H3068 and he will give H5414 you into our hands. H3027

48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine H6430 arose, H6965 and came H3212 and drew nigh H7126 to meet H7125 David, H1732 that David H1732 hasted, H4116 and ran H7323 toward the army H4634 to meet H7125 the Philistine. H6430

49 And David H1732 put H7971 his hand H3027 in his bag, H3627 and took H3947 thence a stone, H68 and slang H7049 it, and smote H5221 the Philistine H6430 in his forehead, H4696 that the stone H68 sunk H2883 into his forehead; H4696 and he fell H5307 upon his face H6440 to the earth. H776

50 So David H1732 prevailed H2388 over H4480 the Philistine H6430 with a sling H7050 and with a stone, H68 and smote H5221 the Philistine, H6430 and slew H4191 him; but there was no sword H2719 in the hand H3027 of David. H1732

51 Therefore David H1732 ran, H7323 and stood H5975 upon the Philistine, H6430 and took H3947 his sword, H2719 and drew H8025 it out of the sheath H8593 thereof, and slew H4191 him, and cut off H3772 his head H7218 therewith. And when the Philistines H6430 saw H7200 their champion H1368 was dead, H4191 they fled. H5127

52 And the men H582 of Israel H3478 and of Judah H3063 arose, H6965 and shouted, H7321 and pursued H7291 the Philistines, H6430 until thou come H935 to the valley, H1516 and to the gates H8179 of Ekron. H6138 And the wounded H2491 of the Philistines H6430 fell down H5307 by the way H1870 to Shaaraim, H8189 even unto Gath, H1661 and unto Ekron. H6138

53 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 returned H7725 from chasing H1814 after H310 the Philistines, H6430 and they spoiled H8155 their tents. H4264

54 And David H1732 took H3947 the head H7218 of the Philistine, H6430 and brought H935 it to Jerusalem; H3389 but he put H7760 his armour H3627 in his tent. H168

55 And when Saul H7586 saw H7200 David H1732 go forth H3318 against H7125 the Philistine, H6430 he said H559 unto Abner, H74 the captain H8269 of the host, H6635 Abner, H74 whose son H1121 is this youth? H5288 And Abner H74 said, H559 As thy soul H5315 liveth, H2416 O king, H4428 I cannot H518 tell. H3045

56 And the king H4428 said, H559 Enquire H7592 thou whose son H1121 the stripling H5958 is.

57 And as David H1732 returned H7725 from the slaughter H5221 of the Philistine, H6430 Abner H74 took H3947 him, and brought H935 him before H6440 Saul H7586 with the head H7218 of the Philistine H6430 in his hand. H3027

58 And Saul H7586 said H559 to him, Whose son H1121 art thou, thou young man? H5288 And David H1732 answered, H559 I am the son H1121 of thy servant H5650 Jesse H3448 the Bethlehemite. H1022


1 Samuel 17:1-58 American Standard (ASV)

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

2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

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

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

5 And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.

7 And the staff 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.

8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

9 If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

11 And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken `in years' among men.

13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 And David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.

15 Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.

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

17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry `them' quickly to the camp to thy brethren;

18 and bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

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

20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.

21 And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.

22 And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant was keeping his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,

35 I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

36 Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

37 And David said, Jehovah that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and Jehovah shall be with thee.

38 And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.

39 And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance.

43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

46 This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

47 and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hand.

48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

51 Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.

53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.

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

55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.

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

58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.


1 Samuel 17:1-58 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And the Philistines gather their camps to battle, and are gathered to Shochoh, which `is' to Judah, and encamp between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-Dammim;

2 and Saul and the men of Israel have been gathered, and encamp by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array to meet the Philistines.

3 And the Philistines are standing on the mountain on this side, and the Israelites are standing on the mountain on that side, and the valley `is' between them.

4 And there goeth out a man of the duellists from the camps of the Philistines, Goliath `is' his name, from Gath; his height `is' six cubits and a span,

5 and a helmet of brass `is' on his head, and `with' a scaled coat of mail he `is' clothed, and the weight of the coat of mail `is' five thousand shekels of brass,

6 and a frontlet of brass `is' on his feet, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders,

7 and the wood of his spear `is' like a beam of weavers', and the flame of his spear `is' six hundred shekels of iron, and the bearer of the buckler is going before him.

8 And he standeth and calleth unto the ranks of Israel, and saith to them, `Why are ye come out to set in array the battle? `am' not I the Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose for you a man, and let him come down unto me;

9 if he be able to fight with me, and have smitten me, then we have been to you for servants; and if I am able for him, and have smitten him, then ye have been to us for servants, and have served us.'

10 And the Philistine saith, `I have reproached the ranks of Israel this day; give to me a man, and we fight together.'

11 And Saul heareth -- and all Israel -- these words of the Philistine, and they are broken down and greatly afraid.

12 And David `is' son of this Ephrathite of Beth-Lehem-Judah, whose name `is' Jesse, and he hath eight sons, and the man in the days of Saul hath become aged among men;

13 and the three eldest sons of Jesse go, they have gone after Saul to battle; and the name of his three sons who have gone into battle `are' Eliab the first-born, and his second Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 And David is the youngest, and the three eldest have gone after Saul,

15 and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem.

16 And the Philistine draweth nigh, morning and evening, and stationeth himself forty days.

17 And Jesse saith to David his son, `Take, I pray thee, to thy brethren, an ephah of this roasted `corn', and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;

18 and these ten cuttings of the cheese thou dost take in to the head of the thousand, and thy brethren thou dost inspect for welfare, and their pledge dost receive.'

19 And Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel `are' in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 And David riseth early in the morning, and leaveth the flock to a keeper, and lifteth up, and goeth, as Jesse commanded him, and he cometh in to the path, and to the force which is going out unto the rank, and they have shouted for battle;

21 and Israel and the Philistines set in array rank to meet rank.

22 And David letteth down the goods from off him on the hand of a keeper of the goods, and runneth into the rank, and cometh and asketh of his brethren of welfare.

23 And he is speaking with them, and lo, a man of the duellists is coming up, Goliath the Philistine `is' his name, of Gath, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he speaketh according to those words, and David heareth;

24 and all the men of Israel when they see the man flee from his presence, and are greatly afraid.

25 And the men of Israel say, `Have ye seen this man who is coming up? for, to reproach Israel he is coming up, and it hath been -- the man who smiteth him, the king doth enrich him with great riches, and his daughter he doth give to him, and his father's house doth make free in Israel.'

26 And David speaketh unto the men who are standing by him, saying, `What is done to the man who smiteth this Philistine, and hath turned aside reproach from Israel? for who `is' this uncircumcised Philistine that he hath reproached the ranks of the living God?'

27 And the people speak to him according to this word, saying, `Thus it is done to the man who smiteth him.'

28 And Eliab, his eldest brother, heareth when he speaketh unto the men, and the anger of Eliab burneth against David, and he saith, `Why `is' this -- thou hast come down! and to whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I have known thy pride, and the evil of thy heart -- for, to see the battle thou hast come down.'

29 And David saith, `What have I done now? is it not a word?'

30 And he turneth round from him unto another, and saith according to this word, and the people return him word as the first word.

31 And the words which David hath spoken are heard, and they declare before Saul, and he receiveth him;

32 and David saith unto Saul, `Let no man's heart fall because of him, thy servant doth go, and hath fought with this Philistine.'

33 And Saul saith unto David, `Thou art not able to go unto this Philistine, to fight with him, for a youth thou `art', and he a man of war from his youth.'

34 And David saith unto Saul, `A shepherd hath thy servant been to his father among the sheep, and the lion hath come -- and the bear -- and hath taken away a sheep out of the drove,

35 and I have gone out after him, and smitten him, and delivered out of his mouth, and he riseth against me, and I have taken hold on his beard, and smitten him, and put him to death.

36 Both the lion and the bear hath thy servant smitten, and this uncircumcised Philistine hath been as one of them, for he hath reproached the ranks of the living God.'

37 And David saith, `Jehovah, who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He doth deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.' And Saul saith unto David, `Go, and Jehovah is with thee.'

38 And Saul clotheth David with his long robe, and hath put a helmet of brass on his head, and doth clothe him with a coat of mail.

39 And David girded his sword above his long robe, and beginneth to go, for he hath not tried `it'; and David saith unto Saul, `I am not able to go with these, for I had not tried;' and David turneth them aside from off him.

40 And he taketh his staff in his hand, and chooseth for him five smooth stones from the brook, and putteth them in the shepherds' habiliments that he hath, even in the scrip, and his sling `is' in his hand, and he draweth nigh unto the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine goeth on, going and drawing near unto David, and the man bearing the buckler `is' before him,

42 and the Philistine looketh attentively, and seeth David, and despiseth him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance.

43 And the Philistine saith unto David, `Am I a dog that thou art coming unto me with staves?' and the Philistine revileth David by his gods,

44 and the Philistine saith unto David, `Come unto me, and I give thy flesh to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.'

45 And David saith unto the Philistine, `Thou art coming unto me with sword, and with spear, and with buckler, and I am coming unto thee in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, God of the ranks of Israel, which thou hast reproached.

46 This day doth Jehovah shut thee up into my hand -- and I have smitten thee, and turned aside thy head from off thee, and given the carcase of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and all the earth do know that God is for Israel.

47 and all this assembly do know that not by sword and by spear doth Jehovah save, that the battle `is' Jehovah's, and He hath given you into our hand.'

48 And it hath come to pass, that the Philistine hath risen, and goeth, and draweth near to meet David, and David hasteth and runneth to the rank to meet the Philistine,

49 and David putteth forth his hand unto the vessel, and taketh thence a stone, and slingeth, and smiteth the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sinketh into his forehead, and he falleth on his face to the earth.

50 And David is stronger than the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smiteth the Philistine, and putteth him to death, and there is no sword in the hand of David,

51 and David runneth and standeth over the Philistine, and taketh his sword, and draweth it out of its sheath, and putteth him to death, and cutteth off with it his head; and the Philistines see that their hero `is' dead, and flee.

52 And the men of Israel rise -- also Judah -- and shout, and pursue the Philistines till thou enter the valley, and unto the gates of Ekron, and the wounded of the Philistines fall in the way of Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron,

53 and the sons of Israel turn back from burning after the Philistines, and spoil their camps.

54 And David taketh the head of the Philistine, and bringeth it in to Jerusalem, and his weapons he hath put in his own tent.

55 And when Saul seeth David going out to meet the Philistine, he hath said unto Abner, head of the host, `Whose son `is' this -- the youth, Abner?' and Abner saith, `Thy soul liveth, O king, I have not known.'

56 And the king saith, `Ask thou whose son this `is' -- the young man.'

57 And when David turneth back from smiting the Philistine, then Abner taketh him and bringeth him in before Saul, and the head of the Philistine in his hand;

58 and Saul saith unto him, `Whose son `art' thou, O youth?' and David saith, `Son of thy servant Jesse, the Beth-Lehemite.'


1 Samuel 17:1-58 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And the Philistines assembled their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.

2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of terebinths, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side; and the ravine was between them.

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

5 And he had a helmet of bronze upon his head, and he was clothed with a corselet of scales; and the weight of the corselet was five thousand shekels of bronze.

6 And he had greaves of bronze upon his legs, and a javelin of bronze between his shoulders.

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

8 And he stood and cried to the ranks of Israel, and said to them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I the Philistine, and ye servants of Saul? choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.

9 If he be able to fight with me, and to smite me, then will we be your servants; but if I overcome and smite him, then shall ye be our servants and serve us.

10 And the Philistine said, I have defied the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

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

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-Judah whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons; and the man was old in the days of Saul, advanced [in years] among men.

13 And the three eldest of the sons of Jesse had gone and followed Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 And David was the youngest; and the three eldest had followed Saul.

15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

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

17 And Jesse said to David his son, Take, I pray, for thy brethren, this ephah of parched [corn] and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren;

18 and carry these ten cheeses to the captain of the thousand, and visit thy brethren to see how they are, and take a pledge of them.

19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel [were] in the valley of terebinths, fighting against the Philistines.

20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took his charge and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the wagon-defence; and the host which was going forth to the battle-array shouted for the fight.

21 And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, rank against rank.

22 And David left the things he was carrying in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran into the ranks, and came and saluted his brethren.

23 And as he talked with them, behold there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words; and David heard [them].

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were greatly afraid.

25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that comes up? for to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who smites him, him will the king enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

26 And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that smites 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?

27 And the people told him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that smites him.

28 And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard while he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29 And David said, What have I now done? Was it not laid upon me?

30 And he turned from him to another, and spoke after the same manner; and the people answered him again after the former manner.

31 And the words were heard which David spoke, and they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him: thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

34 And David said to Saul, Thy servant fed his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and also a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.

35 And I went after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I seized him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

36 Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

37 And David said, Jehovah who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and Jehovah be with thee.

38 And Saul clothed David with his dress, and put a helmet of bronze upon his head, and clothed him with a corselet.

39 And David girded his sword upon his dress, and endeavoured to go; for he had not yet tried [it]. And David said to Saul, I cannot go in these; for I have never tried [them]. And David put them off him.

40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag that he had, into the pocket; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine came on and approached David; and the man that bore the shield was before him.

42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was a youth, and ruddy, and besides of a beautiful countenance.

43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of the heavens and to the beasts of the field.

45 And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with javelin; but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

46 This day will Jehovah deliver thee up into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens and to the wild beasts of the earth. And all the earth shall know that Israel has a God;

47 and all this congregation shall know that Jehovah saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hands.

48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and advanced to meet David, that David hasted, and ran towards the ranks to meet the Philistine.

49 And David put his hand into the bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead; and he fell on his face to the earth.

50 So David overcame the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and smote the Philistine and killed him; and there was no sword in the hand of David.

51 And David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him completely, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.

52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to the ravine and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down on the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.

53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they pillaged their camps.

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

55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son this youth is.

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

58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, young man? And David said, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.


1 Samuel 17:1-58 World English Bible (WEB)

1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.

2 Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

4 There went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

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

6 He had brass shin-armor on his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.

7 The staff 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.

8 He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why are you come out to set your battle in array? am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

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

10 The Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

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

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken [in years] among men.

13 The three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after 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.

14 David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.

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

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

17 Jesse said to David his son, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry [them] quickly to the camp to your brothers;

18 and bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and look how your brothers fare, and take their pledge.

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

20 David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.

21 Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.

22 David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.

23 As he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them.

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

25 The men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

26 David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done to 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?

27 The people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man who kills him.

28 Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why are you come down? and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.

29 David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30 He turned away from him toward another, and spoke after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

31 When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.

32 David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

33 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 a man of war from his youth.

34 David said to Saul, Your servant was keeping his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,

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

36 Your servant struck both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.

37 David said, Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, Go, and Yahweh shall be with you.

38 Saul clad David with his clothing, and he put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.

39 David girded his sword on his clothing, and he tried to go; for he had not proved it. David said to Saul, I can't go with these; for I have not proved them. David put them off him.

40 He took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him.

42 When the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair face.

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

44 The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.

45 Then said David 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 Yahweh of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

46 This day will Yahweh deliver you into my hand; and I will strike you, and take your head from off you; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

47 and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn't save with sword and spear: for the battle is Yahweh's, and he will give you into our hand.

48 It happened, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

49 David put his hand in his bag, and took there a stone, and slang it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

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

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

52 The men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until you come to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.

53 The children of Israel returned from chasing after 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 forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I can't tell.

56 The king said, "Inquire whose son the young man is!"

57 As David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

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


1 Samuel 17:1-58 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Now the Philistines got their armies together for war, and came together at Socoh in the land of Judah, and took up their position between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

2 And Saul and the men of Israel came together and took up their position in the valley of Elah, and put their forces in order against the Philistines.

3 The Philistines were stationed on the mountain on one side and Israel on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

4 And a fighter came out from the tents of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath; he was more than six cubits tall.

5 And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass.

6 His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass.

7 The stem of his spear was as long as a cloth-worker's rod, and its head was made of six hundred shekels' weight of iron: and one went before him with his body-cover.

8 He took up his position and in a loud voice said to the armies of Israel, Why have you come out to make war? Am I not a Philistine and you servants of Saul? Send out a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.

9 If he is able to have a fight with me and overcome me, then we will be your servants: but if I am able to overcome him, then you will be our servants and do work for us.

10 And the Philistine said, I have put to shame the armies of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may have a fight together.

11 And Saul and all Israel, hearing those words of the Philistine, were troubled and full of fear.

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah named Jesse, who had eight sons; and he was an old man in Saul's day, and far on in years.

13 And the three oldest sons of Jesse had gone with Saul to the fight: the names of the three who went to the fight were Eliab, the oldest, and Abinadab the second, and Shammah the third.

14 And David was the youngest: and the three oldest were with Saul's army.

15 Now David went to and from Saul, looking after his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.

16 And the Philistine came near every morning and evening for forty days.

17 And Jesse said to his son David, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dry grain and these ten cakes of bread, and go quickly with them to the tents to your brothers;

18 And take these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are and come back with a sign to say how they are.

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

20 And David got up early in the morning, and, giving the sheep into the care of a keeper, took the things and went as Jesse had said; and he came to the lines where the carts were, when the army was going out to the fight giving their war-cry.

21 And Israel and the Philistines had put their forces in position, army against army.

22 And David gave his parcels into the hands of the keeper of the army stores, and went running to the army and came to his brothers to get knowledge about them.

23 And while he was talking to them, the fighter, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came out from the Philistines' lines and said the same words, in David's hearing.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw him, went in flight, overcome with fear.

25 And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man? Clearly he has come out to put shame on Israel: and it is certain that if any man overcomes him, the king will give that man great wealth, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's family free in Israel.

26 And David said to the men near him, What will be done to the man who overcomes this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? for who is this Philistine, a man without circumcision, that he has put shame on the armies of the living God?

27 And the people gave him this answer, So it will be done to the man who overcomes him.

28 And Eliab, his oldest brother, hearing what David said to the men, was moved to wrath against David, and said, Why have you come here? Into whose care have you given that little flock of sheep in the waste land? I have knowledge of your pride and the evil of your heart, you have come down to see the fight.

29 And David said, What have I done now? was it not only a word?

30 And turning away from him to one of the other men, he said the same words: and the people gave him the same answer.

31 And, hearing what David said, they gave Saul word of it: and he sent for him.

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart become feeble because of him; I, your servant, will go out and have a fight with this Philistine.

33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go out against this Philistine and have a fight with him: for you are only a boy, and he has been a man of war from his earliest days.

34 And David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeper of his father's sheep; and if a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,

35 I went out after him, and overcame him, and took it out of his mouth: and if, turning on me, he came at me, I took him by the hair and overcame him and put him to death.

36 Your servant has overcome lion and bear: and the fate of this Philistine, who is without circumcision, will be like theirs, seeing that he has put shame on the armies of the living God.

37 And David said, The Lord, who kept me safe from the grip of the lion and the bear, will be my saviour from the hands of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go! and may the Lord be with you.

38 Then Saul gave David his clothing of war, and put a head-dress of brass on his head and had him clothed with a coat of metal.

39 And David took Saul's sword and put the band round him over the metal coat, and was unable to go forward; for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, It is not possible for me to go out with these, for I am not used to them. So David took them off.

40 Then he took his stick in his hand, and got five smooth stones from the bed of the stream and put them in a bag such as is used by sheep-keepers; and in his hand was a leather band used for sending stones: and so he went in the direction of the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine came nearer to David; and the man who had his body-cover went before him.

42 And when the Philistine, taking note, saw David, he had a poor opinion of him: for he was only a boy, red-haired and good-looking.

43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come out to me with sticks? And the Philistine put curses on David by all his gods.

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

45 Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin: but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel on which you have put shame.

46 This day the Lord will give you up into my hands, and I will overcome you, and take your head off you; and I will give the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth today, so that all the earth may see that Israel has a God;

47 And all these people who are here today may see that the Lord does not give salvation by sword and spear: for the fight is the Lord's, and he will give you up into our hands.

48 Now when the Philistine made a move and came near to David, David quickly went at a run in the direction of the army, meeting the Philistine face to face.

49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and sent it from his leather band straight at the Philistine, and the stone went deep into his brow, and he went down to the earth, falling on his face.

50 So David overcame the Philistine with his leather band and a stone, wounding the Philistine and causing his death: but David had no sword in his hand.

51 So running up to the Philistine and putting his foot on him, David took his sword out of its cover, and put him to death, cutting off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their fighter was dead, they went in flight.

52 And the men of Israel and of Judah got up, and gave a cry, and went after the Philistines as far as Gath and the town doors of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines were falling down by the road from Shaaraim all the way to Gath and Ekron.

53 Then the children of Israel came back from going after the Philistines, and took their goods from the tents.

54 And David took the head of the Philistine to Jerusalem, but the metal war-dress and the arms he put in his tent.

55 And when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, On your life, O king, I have no idea.

56 And the king said, Make search and see whose son this young man is.

57 And when David was coming back after the destruction of the Philistine, Abner took him to Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

58 And Saul said to him, Young man, whose son are you? And David in answer said, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Beth-lehem.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 17

Commentary on 1 Samuel 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Verses 1-54

A war between the Philistines and the Israelites furnished David with the opportunity of displaying before Saul and all Israel, and greatly to the terror of the enemies of his people, that heroic power which was firmly based upon his bold and pious trust in the omnipotence of the faithful covenant God (1 Samuel 17:1-3). A powerful giant, named Goliath, came forward from the ranks of the Philistines, and scornfully challenged the Israelites to produce a man who would decide the war by a single combat with him (1 Samuel 17:4-11). David, who had returned home for a time from the court of Saul, and had just been sent into the camp by his father with provisions for his elder brothers who were serving in the army, as soon as he heard the challenge and the scornful words of the Philistine, offered to fight with him (vv. 15-37), and killed the giant with a stone from a sling; whereupon the Philistines took to flight, and were pursued by the Israelites to Gath and Ekron (vv. 38-54).

1 Samuel 17:1-11

Some time after David first came to Saul for the purpose of playing, and when he had gone back to his father to Bethlehem, probably because Saul's condition had improved, the Philistines made a fresh attempt to subjugate the Israelites. They collected their army together ( machaneh , as in Exodus 14:24; Judges 4:16) to war at Shochoh , the present Shuweikeh , in the Wady Sumt , three hours and a half to the south-west of Jerusalem, in the hilly region between the mountains of Judah and the plain of Philistia (see at Joshua 15:35), and encamped between Shochoh and Azekah , at Ephes-dammim , which has been preserved in the ruins of Damûm , about an hour and a half east by north of Shuweikeh; so that Azekah , which has not yet been certainly traced, must be sought for to the east or north-east of Damûm (see at Joshua 10:10).

1 Samuel 17:2-3

Saul and the Israelites encamped opposite to them in the terebinth valley ( Emek ha-Elah ), i.e., a plain by the Wady Musur , and stood in battle array opposite to the Philistines, in such order that the latter stood on that side against the mountain (on the slope of the mountain), and the Israelites on this side against the mountain; and the valley ( הגּיא , the deeper cutting made by the brook in the plain) was between them .

1 Samuel 17:4-5

And the (well-known) champion came out of the camps of the Philistines ( הבּנים אישׁ , the middle-man, who decides a war between two armies by a single combat; Luther, “ the giant ,” according to the ἀνὴρ δυνατὸς of the lxx, although in 1 Samuel 17:23 the Septuagint translators have rendered the word correctly ἀνὴρ ὁ ἀμεσσαῖος , which is probably only another form of ὁ μεσαῖος ), named Goliath of Gath, one of the chief cities of the Philistines, where there were Anakim still left, according to Joshua 11:22. His height was six cubits and a span (6 1/4 cubits), i.e., according to the calculation made by Thenius, about nine feet two inches Parisian measure, - a great height no doubt, though not altogether unparalleled, and hardly greater than that of the great uncle of Iren, who came to Berlin in the year 1857 (see Pentateuch, p. 869, note).

(Note: According to Pliny ( h. n . vii. 16), the giant Pusio and the giantess Secundilla , who lived in the time of Augustus, were ten feet three inches (Roman) in height; and a Jew is mentioned by Josephus ( Ant . xviii. 4, 5), who was seven cubits in height, i.e., ten Parisian feet, or if the cubits are Roman, nine and a half.)

The armour of Goliath corresponded to his gigantic stature: “ a helmet of brass upon his head, and clothes in scale armour, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass .” The meaning scales is sustained by the words קשׂקשׂת in Leviticus 11:9-10, and Deuteronomy 14:9-10, and קשׂקשׂות in Ezekiel 29:4. קשׂקשּׂים שׁריון , therefore, is not θώραξ ἁλυσιδωτός (lxx), a coat of mail made of rings worked together like chains, such as were used in the army of the Seleucidae (1 Macc. 6:35), but according to Aquila's φολιδωτόν (scaled), a coat made of plates of brass lying one upon another like scales, such as we find upon the old Assyrian sculptures, where the warriors fighting in chariots, and in attendance upon the king, wear coats of scale armour, descending either to the knees or ankles, and consisting of scales of iron or brass, which were probably fastened to a shirt of felt or coarse linen (see Layard, Nineveh and its Remains , vol. ii. p. 335). The account of the weight, 5000 shekels, i.e., according to Thenius, 148 Dresden pounds, is hardly founded upon the actual weighing of the coat of mail, but probably rested upon a general estimate, which may have been somewhat too high, although we must bear in mind that the coat of mail not only covered the chest and back, but, as in the case of the Assyrian warriors, the lower part of the body also, and therefore must have been very large and very heavy.

(Note: According to Thenius, the cuirass of Augustus the Strong, which has been preserved in the historical museum at Dresden, weighted fifty-five pounds; and from that he infers, that the weight given as that of Goliath's coat of mail is by no means too great. Ewald , on the other hand, seems to have no idea of the nature of the Hebrew eights, or of the bodily strength of a man, since he gives 5000 lbs. of brass as the weight of Goliath's coat of mail ( Gesch. iii. p. 90), and merely observes that the pounds were of course much smaller than ours. But the shekel did not even weight so much as our full ounce. With such statements as these you may easily turn the historical character of the scriptural narrative into incredible myths; but they cannot lay any claim to the name of science.)

1 Samuel 17:6

And “ greaves of brass upon his feet, and a brazen lance (hung) between his shoulders ,” i.e., upon his back. כּידון signifies a lance, or small spear. The lxx and Vulgate, however, adopt the rendering ἀσπὶς χαλκῆ , clypeus aeneus; and Luther has followed them, and translates it a brazen shield. Thenius therefore proposes to alter כּידון into מגן , because the expression “between his shoulders” does not appear applicable to a spear or javelin, which Goliath must have suspended by a strap, but only to a small shield slung over his back, whilst his armour-bearer carried the larger צנּה in front of him. But the difficulty founded upon the expression “ between his shoulders ” has been fully met by Bochart ( Hieroz . i. 2, c. 8), in the examples which he cites from Homer, Virgil, etc., to prove that the ancients carried their own swords slung over their shoulders ( ἀμφὶ δ ̓ ὤμοισιν : Il . ii. 45, etc.). And Josephus understood the expression in this way ( Ant . vi. 9, 1). Goliath had no need of any shield to cover his back, as this was sufficiently protected by the coat of mail. Moreover, the allusion to the כּידון in 1 Samuel 17:45 points to an offensive weapon, and not to a shield.

1 Samuel 17:7

And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the point of it six hundred shekels of iron ” (about seventeen pounds). For חץ , according to the Keri and the parallel passages, 2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 20:5, we should read עץ , wood, i.e., shaft. Before him went the bearer of the zinnah , i.e., the great shield.

1 Samuel 17:8

This giant stood and cried to the ranks of the Israelites, “ Why come ye out to place yourselves in battle array? Am I not the Philistine, and ye the servants of Saul? Choose ye out a man who may come down to me ” (into the valley where Goliath was standing). The meaning is: “Why would you engage in battle with us? I am the man who represents the strength of the Philistines, and ye are only servants of Saul. If ye have heroes, choose one out, that we may decide the matter in a single combat.”

1 Samuel 17:9-10

If he can fight with me, and kill me, we will be your servants; if I overcome him, and slay him, ye shall be our servants, and serve us.” He then said still further (1 Samuel 17:10) , “I have mocked the ranks of Israel this day (the mockery consisted in his designating the Israelites as servants of Saul, and generally in the triumphant tone in which he issued the challenge to single combat); give me a man, that we may fight together!

1 Samuel 17:11

At these words Saul and all Israel were dismayed and greatly afraid, because not one of them dared to accept the challenge to fight with such a giant.

1 Samuel 17: 12-31

David's arrival in the camp, and wish to fight with Goliath . - David had been dismissed by Saul at that time, and having returned home, he was feeding his father's sheep once more (1 Samuel 17:12-15). Now, when the Israelites were standing opposite to the Philistines, and Goliath was repeating his challenge every day, David was sent by his father into the camp to bring provisions to his three eldest brothers, who were serving in Saul's army, and to inquire as to their welfare (1 Samuel 17:16-19). He arrived when the Israelites had placed themselves in battle array; and running to his brethren in the ranks, he saw Goliath come out from the ranks of the Philistines, and heard his words, and also learned from the mouth of an Israelite what reward Saul would give to any one who would defeat this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:20-25). He then inquired more minutely into the matter; and having thereby betrayed his own intention of trying to fight with him (1 Samuel 17:26, 1 Samuel 17:27), he was sharply reproved by his eldest brother in consequence (1 Samuel 17:28, 1 Samuel 17:29). He did not allow this to deter him, however, but turned to another with the same question, and received a similar reply (1 Samuel 17:30); whereupon his words were told to the king, who ordered David to come before him (1 Samuel 17:31).

This is, in a condensed form, the substance of the section, which introduces the conquest of Goliath by David in the character of an episode. This first heroic deed was of the greatest importance to David and all Israel, for it was David's first step on the way to the throne, to which Jehovah had resolved to raise him. This explains the fulness and circumstantiality of the narrative, in which the intention is very apparent to set forth most distinctly the marvellous overruling of all the circumstances by God himself. And this circumstantiality of the account is closely connected with the form of the narrative, which abounds in repetitions, that appear to us tautological in many instances, but which belong to the characteristic peculiarities of the early Hebrew style of historical composition.

(Note: On account of these repetitions and certain apparent differences, the lxx ( Cod. Vat .) have omitted the section from 1 Samuel 17:12 to 1 Samuel 17:31, and also that from 1 Samuel 17:55 to 1 Samuel 18:5; and on the ground of this omission, Houbigant, Kennicott, Michaelis, Eichhorn, Dathe, Bertheau, and many others, have pronounced both these sections later interpolations; whereas the more recent critics, such as De Wette, Thenius, Ewald , Bleek , Stähelin, and others, reject the hypothesis that they are interpolations, and infer from the supposed discrepancies that 1 Samuel 17 and 18 were written by some one who was ignorant of the facts mentioned in 1 Samuel 16, and was altogether a different person from the author of this chapter. According to 1 Samuel 16:21., they say, David was Saul's armour-bearer already, and his family connections were well known to the king, whereas, according to 1 Samuel 17:15, David was absent just at the time when he ought as armour-bearer to have been in attendance upon Saul; whilst in 1 Samuel 17:33 he is represented as a shepherd boy who was unaccustomed to handle weapons, and as being an unauthorized spectator of the war, and, what is still more striking, even his lineage is represented in 1 Samuel 17:55. as unknown both to Abner and the king. Moreover, in 1 Samuel 17:12 the writer introduces a notice concerning David with which the reader must be already well acquainted from 1 Samuel 16:5., and which is therefore, to say the least, superfluous; and in 1 Samuel 17:54 Jerusalem is mentioned in a manner which does not quite harmonize with the history, whilst the account of the manner in which he disposed of Goliath's armour is apparently at variance with 1 Samuel 21:9. But the notion, that the sections in question are interpolations that have crept into the text, cannot be sustained on the mere authority of the Septuagint version; since the arbitrary manner in which the translators of this version made omissions or additions at pleasure is obvious to any one. Again, the assertion that these sections cannot well be reconciled with 1 Samuel 16, and emanated from an author who was unacquainted with the history in 1 Samuel 16, is overthrown by the unquestionable reference to 1 Samuel 16 which we find in 1 Samuel 16:12, “David the son of that Ephratite,” - where Jerome has correctly paraphrased הזּה , de quo supra dictum est , - and also by the remark in 1 Samuel 16:15, that David went backwards and forwards from Saul to feed his father's sheep in Bethlehem. Neither of these can be pronounced interpolations of the compiler, unless the fact can be established that the supposed discrepancies are really well founded. But it by no means follows, that because Saul loved David on account of the beneficial effect which is playing upon the harp produced upon his mind, and appointed him his armour-bearer, therefore David had really to carry the king's armour in time of war. The appointment of armour-bearer was nothing more than conferring upon him the title of aide-de-camp, from which it cannot be inferred that David had already become well known to the king through the performance of warlike deeds. If Joab, the commander-in-chief, had ten armour-bearers (2 Samuel 18:15, compare 1 Samuel 23:37), king Saul would certainly have other armour-bearers besides David, and such as were well used to war. Moreover, it is not stated anywhere in 1 Samuel 16 that Saul took David at the very outset into his regular and permanent service, but, according to 1 Samuel 16:22, he merely asked his father Jesse that David might stand before him, i.e., might serve him; and there is no contradiction in the supposition, that when his melancholy left him for a time, he sent David back to his father to Bethlehem, so that on the breaking out of the war with the Philistines he was living at home and keeping sheep, whilst his three eldest brothers had gone to the war. The circumstance, however, that when David went to fight with Goliath, Saul asked Abner his captain, “Whose son is this youth?” and Abner could give no explanation to the king, so that after the defeat of Goliath, Saul himself asked David, “Whose son art thou?” (1 Samuel 17:55-58), can hardly be comprehended, if all that Saul wanted to ascertain was the name of David's father. For even if Abner had not troubled himself about the lineage of Saul's harpist, Saul himself could not well have forgotten that David was a son of the Bethlehemite Jesse. But there was much more implied in Saul's question. It was not the name of David's father alone that he wanted to discover, but what kind of man the father of a youth who possessed the courage to accomplish so marvellous a heroic deed really was; and the question was put not merely in order that he might grant him an exemption of his house from taxes as the reward promised for the conquest of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:25), but also in all probability that he might attach such a man to his court, since he inferred from the courage and bravery of the son the existence of similar qualities in the father. It is true that David merely replied, “The son of thy servant Jesse of Bethlehem;” but it is very evident from the expression in 1 Samuel 18:1, “when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul,” that Saul conversed with him still further about his family affairs, since the very words imply a lengthened conversation. The other difficulties are very trivial, and will be answered in connection with the exposition of the passages in question.)

1 Samuel 17:12-15

1 Samuel 17:12-15 are closely connected with the preceding words, “ All Israel was alarmed at the challenge of the Philistine; but David the son of that Ephratite (Ephratite, as in Ruth 1:1-2) of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse ,” etc. The verb and predicate do not follow till 1 Samuel 17:15; so that the words occur here in the form of an anacolouthon. The traditional introduction of the verb היה between ודוד and בּן־אישׁ (David was the son of that Ephratite) is both erroneous and misleading. If the words were to be understood in this way, היה could no more be omitted here than היתה in 2 Chronicles 22:3, 2 Chronicles 22:11. The true explanation is rather, that 1 Samuel 17:12-15 form one period expanded by parentheses, and that the historian lost sight of the construction with which he commenced in the intermediate clauses; so that he started afresh with the subject ודוד in 1 Samuel 17:15, and proceeded with what he had to say concerning David, doing this at the same time in such a form that what he writes is attached, so far as the sense if concerned, to the parenthetical remarks concerning Jesse's eldest sons. To bring out distinctly the remarkable chain of circumstances by which David was led to undertake the conflict with Goliath, he links on to the reference to his father certain further notices respecting David's family and his position at that time. Jesse had eight sons and was an old man in the time of Saul. באנשׁים בּא , “come among the weak.” אנשׁים generally means, no doubt, people or men. But this meaning does not give any appropriate sense here; and the supposition that the word has crept in through a slip of the pen for בּשּׁנים , is opposed not only by the authority of the early translators, all of whom read אנשׁים , but also by the circumstance that the expression בּשּׁנים בּוא does not occur in the whole of the Old Testament, and that ביּמים בּוא alone is used with this signification.

1 Samuel 17:13-14

The three great (i.e., eldest) sons of Jesse had gone behind Saul into the war .” הלכוּ , which appears superfluous after the foregoing ויּלכוּ , has been defended by Böttcher, as necessary to express the pluperfect, which the thought requires, since the imperfect consec . ויּלכוּ , when attached to a substantive and participial clause, merely expresses the force of the aorist. Properly, therefore, it reads thus: “ And then (in Jesse's old age) the three eldest sons followed, had followed, Saul ;” a very ponderous construction indeed, but quite correct, and even necessary, with the great deficiency of forms, to express the pluperfect. The names of these three sons agree with 1 Samuel 16:6-9, whilst the third, Shammah , is called Shimeah ( שׁמעה ) in 2 Samuel 13:3, 2 Samuel 13:32, שׁמעי in 2 Samuel 21:21, and שׁמעא in 1 Chronicles 2:13; 1 Chronicles 20:7.

1 Samuel 17:15

But David was going and returning away from Saul :” i.e., he went backwards and forwards from Saul to feed his father's sheep in Bethlehem; so that he was not in the permanent service of Saul, but at that very time was with his father. The latter is to be supplied from the context.

1 Samuel 17:16-17

The Philistine drew near (to the Israelitish ranks) morning and evening, and stationed himself for forty days (in front of them). This remark continues the description of Goliath's appearance, and introduces the account which follows. Whilst the Philistine was coming out every day for forty days long with his challenge to single combat, Jesse sent his son David into the camp. “ Take now for thy brethren this ephah of parched grains (see Leviticus 23:13), and these ten loaves, and bring them quickly into the camp to thy brethren .”

1 Samuel 17:18

And these ten slices of soft cheese (so the ancient versions render it) bring to the chief captain over thousand, and visit thy brethren to inquire after their welfare, and bring with you a pledge from them ” - a pledge that they are alive and well. This seems the simplest explanation of the word ערבּתם , of which very different renderings were given by the early translators.

1 Samuel 17:19

But Saul and they (the brothers), and the whole of the men of Israel, are in the terebinth valley ,” etc. This statement forms part of Jesse's words.

1 Samuel 17:20-21

In pursuance of this commission, David went in the morning to the waggon-rampart , when the army, which was going out (of the camp) into battle array, raised the war-cry, and Israel and the Philistines placed themselves battle-array against battle-array . וגו והחיל is a circumstantial clause, and the predicate is introduced with והרעוּ , as וגו והחיל is placed at the head absolutely: “ and as for the army which, etc., it raised a shout .” בּמּלחמה הרע , lit . to make a noise in war, i.e., to raise a war-cry .

1 Samuel 17:22

David left the vessels with the provisions in the charge of the keeper of the vessels, and ran into the ranks to inquire as to the health of his brethren.

1 Samuel 17:23

Whilst he was talking with them, the champion (middle-man) Goliath drew near, and spoke according to those words (the words contained in 1 Samuel 17:8.), and David heard it. פל ממּערות is probably an error for פל ממּערכות ( Keri , lxx, Vulg. ; cf. 1 Samuel 17:26). If the Chethibh were the proper reading, it would suggest an Arabic word signifying a crowd of men (Dietrich on Ges. Lex. ).

1 Samuel 17:24-25

All the Israelites fled from Goliath, and were so afraid. They said ( ישׂראל אישׁ is a collective noun), “ Have ye seen this man who is coming? ( הרּאיתם , with Dagesh dirim as in 1 Samuel 10:24. Surely to defy Israel is he coming; and whoever shall slay him, the king will enrich him with great wealth, and give him his daughter, and make his father's house (i.e., his family) free in Israel ,” viz., from taxes and public burdens. There is nothing said afterwards about the fulfilment of these promises. But it by no means follows from this, that the statement is to be regarded as nothing more than an exaggeration, that had grown up among the people, of what Saul had really said. There is al| the less probability in this, from the fact that, according to 1 Samuel 17:27, the people assured him again of the same thing. In all probability Saul had actually made some such promises as these, but did not feel himself bound to fulfil them afterwards, because he had not made them expressly to David himself.

1 Samuel 17:26-27

When David heard these words, he made more minute inquiries from the bystanders about the whole matter, and dropped some words which gave rise to the supposition that he wanted to go and fight with this Philistine himself. This is implied in the words, “ For who is the Philistine, this uncircumcised one (i.e., standing as he does outside the covenant with Jehovah), that he insults the ranks of the living God! ” whom he has defied in His army. “He must know,” says the Berleburger Bible , “that he has not to do with men, but with God. With a living God he will have to do, and not with an idol.”

1 Samuel 17:28

David's eldest brother was greatly enraged at his talking thus with the men, and reproved David: “ Why hast thou come down (from Bethlehem, which stood upon high ground, to the scene of the war), and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the desert? ” “ Those few sheep ,” the loss of only one of which would be a very great loss to our family. “ I know thy presumption, and the wickedness of thy heart; for thou hast come down to look at the war ;” i.e., thou art not contented with thy lowly calling, but aspirest to lofty things; it gives thee pleasure to look upon bloodshed. Eliab sought for the splinter in his brother's eye, and was not aware of the beam in his own. The very things with which he charged his brother - presumption and wickedness of heart - were most apparent in his scornful reproof.

1 Samuel 17:29-30

David answered very modestly, and so as to put the scorn of his reprover to shame: “ What have I done, then? It was only a word ” - a very allowable inquiry certainly. He then turned from him (Eliab) to another who was standing by; and having repeated his previous words, he received the same answer from the people.

1 Samuel 17:31

David's words were told to Saul, who had him sent for immediately.

1 Samuel 17:32-40

David's resolution to fight with Goliath; and his equipment for the conflict . - 1 Samuel 17:32. When in the presence of Saul, David said, “ Let no man's heart (i.e., courage) fail on his account (on account of the Philistine, about whom they had been speaking): thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine .”

1 Samuel 17:33-35

To Saul's objection that he, a mere youth, could not fight with this Philistine, a man of war from his youth up, David replied, that as a shepherd he had taken a sheep out of the jaws of a lion and a bear, and had also slain them both. The article before ארי and דּוב points out these animals as the well-known beasts of prey. By the expression ואת־הדּוב the bear is subordinated to the lion, or rather placed afterwards, as something which came in addition to it; so that את is to be taken as a nota accus . (vid., Ewald , §277, a ), though it is not to be understood as implying that the lion and the bear went together in search of prey. The subordination or addition is merely a logical one: not only the lion, but also the bear, which seized the sheep, did David slay. זה , which we find in most of the editions since the time of Jac. Chayim, 1525, is an error in writing, or more correctly in hearing, for שׂה , a sheep. “ And I went out after it; and when it rose up against me, I seized it by its beard, and smote it, and killed it .” זקן , beard and chin, signifies the bearded chin . Thenius proposes, though without any necessity, to alter בּזקנו into בּגרונו , for the simple but weak reason, that neither lions nor bears have any actual beard. We have only to think, for example, of the λῖς ἠυγένειος in Homer ( Il . xv. 275, xvii. 109), or the barbam vellere mortuo leoni of Martial (x. 9). Even in modern times we read of lions having been killed by Arabs with a stick (see Rosenmüller, Bibl. Althk . iv. 2, pp. 132-3). The constant use of the singular suffix is sufficient to show, that when David speaks of the lion and the bear, he connects together two different events, which took place at different times, and then proceeds to state how he smote both the one and the other of the two beasts of prey.

1 Samuel 17:36-38

Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and the Philistine, this uncircumcised one, shall become like one of them (i.e., the same thing shall happen to him as to the lion and the bear), because he has defied the ranks of the living God .” “And,” he continued (1 Samuel 17:37), “the Lord who delivered me out of the hand (the power) of the lion and the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” David's courage rested, therefore, upon his confident belief that the living God would not let His people be defied by the heathen with impunity. Saul then desired for him the help of the Lord in carrying out his resolution, and bade him put on his own armour-clothes, and bird on his armour. מדּיו (his clothes) signifies probably a peculiar kind of clothes which were worn under the armour, a kind of armour-coat to which the sword was fastened.

1 Samuel 17:39-40

When he was thus equipped with brazen helmet, coat of mail, and sword, David began to walk, but soon found that he could do nothing with these. He therefore said to Saul, “ I cannot go in these things, for I have not tried them ;” and having taken them off, he took his shepherd's staff in his hand, sought out five smooth stones from the brook-valley, and put them in the shepherd's thing that he had, namely his shepherd's bag. He then took the sling in his hand, and went up to the Philistine. In the exercise of his shepherd's calling he may have become so skilled in the use of the sling, that, like the Benjaminites mentioned in Judges 20:16, he could sling at a hair's-breadth, and not miss.

1 Samuel 17:41-54

David and Goliath: fall of Goliath, and flight of the Philistines . - 1 Samuel 17:41. The Philistine came closer and closer to David.

1 Samuel 17:42-44

When he saw David, “ he looked at him, and despised him ,” i.e., he looked at him contemptuously, because he was a youth (as in 1 Samuel 16:12); “ and then said to him, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with sticks? ” (the plural מקלות is used in contemptuous exaggeration of the armour of David, which appeared so thoroughly unfit for the occasion); “ and cursed David by his God (i.e., making use of the name of Jehovah in his cursing, and thus defying not David only, but the God of Israel also), and finished with the challenge, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of heaven and the beasts of the field ” (to eat). It was with such threats as these that Homer's heroes used to defy one another (vid., Hector's threat, for example, in Il . xiii. 831-2).

1 Samuel 17:45-47

David answered this defiance with bold, believing courage: “ Thou comest to me with sword, and javelin, and lance; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Saboath, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I shall smite thee, and cut off thine head, and give the corpse of the army of the Philistines to the birds this day ... And all the world shall learn that Israel hath a God; and this whole assembly shall discover that Jehovah bringeth deliverance (victory) not by sword and spear: for war belongeth to Jehovah, and He will give you into our hand .” Whilst Goliath boasted of his strength, David founded his own assurance of victory upon the Almighty God of Israel, whom the Philistine had defied. פּגר is to be taken collectively. לישׂראל אלהים ישׁ does not mean “God is for Israel,” but “Israel hath a God,” so that Elohim is of course used here in a pregnant sense. This God is Jehovah; war is his, i.e., He is the Lord of war, who has both war and its results in His power.

1 Samuel 17:48-49

When the Philistines rose up, drawing near towards David ( קם and ילך simply serve to set forth the occurrence in a more pictorial manner), David hastened and ran to the battle array to meet him , took a stone out of his pocket, hurled it, and hit the Philistine on his temples, so that the stone entered them, and Goliath fell upon his face to the ground.

1 Samuel 17:50-51

1 Samuel 17:50 contains a remark by the historian with reference to the result of the conflict: “ Thus was David stronger than the Philistine, with a sling and stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him without a sword in his hand .” And then in 1 Samuel 17:51 the details are given, namely, that David cut off the head of the fallen giant with his own sword. Upon the downfall of their hero the Philistines were terrified and fled; whereupon the Israelites rose up with a cry to pursue the flying foe, and pursued them “ to a valley, and to the gates of Ekron .” The first place mentioned is a very striking one. The “ valley ” cannot mean the one which divided the two armies, according to 1 Samuel 17:3, not only because the article is wanting, but still more from the facts themselves. For it is neither stated, nor really probable, that the Philistines had crossed that valley, so as to make it possible to pursue them into it again. But if the word refers to some other valley, it seems very strange that nothing further should be said about it. Both these circumstances render the reading itself, ניא , suspicious, and give great probability to the conjecture that ניא is only a copyist's error for Gath , which is the rendering given by the lxx, especially when taken in connection with the following clause, “ to Gath and to Ekron ” (1 Samuel 17:52).

1 Samuel 17:52

And wounded of the Philistines fell on the way to Shaaraim, and to Gath and to Ekron .” Shaaraim is the town of Saarayim , in the lowland of Judah, and has probably been preserved in the Tell Kefr Zakariya (see at Joshua 15:36). On Gath and Ekron , see at Joshua 13:3.

1 Samuel 17:53

After returning from the pursuit of the flying foe, the Israelites plundered the camp of the Philistines. אהרי דּלק , to pursue hotly, as in Genesis 31:36.

1 Samuel 17:54

But David took the head of Goliath and brought it to Jerusalem, and put his armour in his tent. אהל is an antiquated term for a dwelling-place, as in 1 Samuel 4:10; 1 Samuel 13:2, etc. The reference is to David's house at Bethlehem, to which he returned with the booty after the defeat of Goliath, and that by the road which ran past Jerusalem, where he left the head of Goliath. There is no anachronism in these statements; for the assertion made by some, that Jerusalem was not yet in the possession of the Israelites, rests upon a confusion between the citadel of Jebus upon Zion, which was still in the hands of the Jebusites, and the city of Jerusalem, in which Israelites had dwelt for a long time (see at Joshua 15:63, and Judges 1:8). Nor is there any contradiction between this statement and 1 Samuel 21:9, where Goliath's sword is said to have been preserved in the tabernacle at Nob: for it is not affirmed that David kept Goliath's armour in his own home, but only that he took it thither; and the supposition that Goliath's sword was afterwards deposited by him in the sanctuary in honour of the Lord, is easily reconcilable with this. Again, the statement in 1 Samuel 18:2, to the effect that, after David's victory over Goliath, Saul did not allow him to return to his father's house any more, is by no means at variance with this explanation of the verse before us. For the statement in question must be understood in accordance with 1 Samuel 17:15, viz., as signifying that from that time forward Saul did not allow David to return to his father's house to keep the sheep as he had done before, and by no means precludes his paying brief visits to Bethlehem.


Verse 55-56

Jonathan's friendship . - 1 Samuel 17:55-58. The account of the relation into which David was brought to Saul through the defeat of Goliath is introduced by a supplementary remark, in 1 Samuel 17:55, 1 Samuel 17:56, as to a conversation which took place between Saul and his commander-in-chief Abner concerning David, whilst he was fighting with the giant. So far, therefore, as the actual meaning is concerned, the verbs in 1 Samuel 17:55 and 1 Samuel 17:56 should be rendered as pluperfects. When Saul saw the youth walk boldly up to meet the Philistine, he asked Abner whose son he was; whereupon Abner assured him with an oath that he did not know. In our remarks concerning the integrity of this section we have already observed, with regard to the meaning of the question put by Saul, that it does not presuppose an actual want of acquaintance with the person of David and the name of his father, but only ignorance of the social condition of David's family, with which both Abner and Saul may hitherto have failed to make themselves more fully acquainted.

(Note: The common solutions of this apparent discrepancy, such as that Saul pretended not to know David, or that his question is to be explained on the supposition that his disease affected his memory, have but little probability in them, although Karkar still adheres to them.)


Verse 57-58

When David returned “ from the slaughter of the Philistine ,” i.e., after the defeat of Goliath, and when Abner, who probably went as commander to meet the brave hero and congratulate him upon his victory, had brought him to Saul, the king addressed the same question to David, who immediately gave him the information he desired. For it is evident that David said more than is here communicated, viz., “ the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite ,” as we have already observed, from the words of 1 Samuel 18:1, which presuppose a protracted conversation between Saul and David. The only reason, in all probability, why this conversation has not been recorded, is that it was not followed by any lasting results either for Jesse or David.