Goliath’s Challenge 2 UDB Saul gathered the Israelite army near Elah Valley, and they set up their tents. Then they all took their places, ready to fight the Philistines. BSB BSB: Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.
3 UDB So the Philistine and Israelite armies faced each other. They were on two hills with a valley between them. BSB BSB: The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them.
5 UDB He wore a helmet made of bronze to protect his head, and he wore a coat made of metal plates to protect his body. The metal coat weighed about fifty-five kilograms. BSB BSB: and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels,
6 UDB He wore bronze guards on his legs. He had a small bronze spear fastened on his back. BSB BSB: and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
7 UDB He also had a big spear. It had a cord on it to enable him to throw it better. Its iron head weighed about seven kilograms. A soldier carrying Goliath's huge shield walked in front of him. BSB BSB: The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. In addition, his shield bearer went before him.
8 UDB Goliath stood there and shouted to the Israelite army, "I can see you are lined up for battle, but you will not fight me. You can see that I am a Philistine soldier who is ready to fight, but you are just the slaves of Saul. Choose one man who can fight for all of you and send him down here to me! BSB BSB: And Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and array yourselves for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.
9 UDB If he fights with me and kills me, then my fellow Philistines will all be your servants. But if I defeat him and kill him, then you Israelites will all be our servants. BSB BSB: If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and work for us.”
10 UDB None of you Israelite men can defeat me! Send me a man who will fight with me!" BSB BSB: Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
11 UDB When Saul and all the Israelite soldiers heard that, they were very terrified. BSB BSB: On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.
David Accepts the Challenge 12 UDB Now David son of Jesse was from the clan of Ephrath. He lived in Bethlehem, in the region of the tribe of Judah. Jesse had eight sons. When Saul was king, Jesse had already become a very old man. BSB BSB: Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons. And in the days of Saul, Jesse was old and well along in years.
13 UDB Jesse's three oldest sons, Eliab and Abinadab and Shammah, had gone with Saul to fight the Philistines. BSB BSB: The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
14 UDB David was Jesse's youngest son. While his three oldest brothers were with Saul, BSB BSB: And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,
15 UDB David went back and forth. Sometimes he went to Saul's camp, and sometimes he stayed in Bethlehem to take care of his father's sheep. BSB BSB: but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
16 UDB For forty days Goliath came out from the Philistine camp and stood there mocking the Israelite army. He kept telling the Israelites to choose one man to fight with him. He did this twice each day, in the morning and in the evening. BSB BSB: For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening to take his stand.
17 UDB One day, Jesse said to David, "Here is a sack of roasted grain and ten loaves of bread. Take these quickly to your older brothers. BSB BSB: One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.
18 UDB And here are ten large chunks of cheese. Take them to their commander. And see how things are going with your older brothers. Then if they are safe, bring back something to show they are all right. BSB BSB: Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them.
19 UDB Your brothers are with Saul and all the other Israelite soldiers, camped alongside Elah Valley, preparing to fight the Philistines." BSB BSB: They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 UDB So David arranged for another shepherd to take care of the sheep. Early the next morning he took the food and went to the Israelite camp, as Jesse told him to do. He arrived there just as the Israelite soldiers were forming their ranks and going out to the battlefield. As they went, they were shouting a war cry. BSB BSB: So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry.
21 UDB The Philistine army and the Israelite army stood on the hillsides, facing each other, ready for the battle. BSB BSB: And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other.
22 UDB David gave the food to the man who was taking care of the war equipment. He told him to take care of the food that he brought, and then he went and greeted his older brothers. BSB BSB: Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.
23 UDB While he was talking with them, he saw Goliath coming out from among the Philistine soldiers, shouting to the Israelites, challenging them to send a man to fight him. David heard what Goliath was saying. BSB BSB: And as he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the ranks of the Philistines and shouted his usual words, which David also heard.
24 UDB When all the Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were terrified and started to run away. BSB BSB: When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear.
25 UDB They were saying to each other, "Look at him coming up toward us! And listen to him as he defies us Israelites! The king says that he will give a big reward to whoever kills this man. He also says that he will give his daughter to that man for him to marry her and that he will no longer require that man's family to pay taxes." BSB BSB: Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxation in Israel.”
26 UDB David talked to some of the men who were standing near him. He said, "This Philistine—this uncircumcised man—should not be mocking the all-powerful God. What will be given to the person who kills this Philistine and stops him from shaming us Israelites?" BSB BSB: David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
27 UDB The men told him the same thing that the other men had said about what the king would do for anyone who killed Goliath. BSB BSB: The people told him about the offer, saying, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 UDB But when David's oldest brother Eliab heard David talking to the men, he was angry. He said to David, "Why have you come down here? Is someone taking care of those few sheep that you left in the desert? I know you are just a troublemaking boy! You just want to watch the battle!" BSB BSB: Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!”
29 UDB David replied, "Have I done something wrong? I was merely asking a question!" BSB BSB: “What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?”
30 UDB Then he walked over to another man and asked him the same question, but the man gave him the same answer. Each time he asked someone, he received the same answer. BSB BSB: Then he turned from him toward another and asked about the offer, and those people answered him just as the first ones had answered.
31 UDB Finally, someone told King Saul what David had asked, and Saul sent someone to bring David to him. BSB BSB: Now David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, who sent for him.
32 UDB David told King Saul, "No one should worry because of that Philistine man. Your servant will go and fight with him!" BSB BSB: And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!”
33 UDB Saul said to David, "You are only a young man, and he has been a very powerful soldier all of his life. So you are not able to go and fight with him!" BSB BSB: But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 UDB David replied, "Your servant has been taking care of my father's sheep for many years. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried away a lamb, BSB BSB: David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,
35 UDB I went after it and attacked it and rescued the lamb from the animal's mouth. Then I grabbed the animal by its jaw and struck it and killed it. BSB BSB: I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.
36 UDB Your servant has killed both lions and bears. And I will do the same to this heathen Philistine because he has defied the army of the all-powerful God! BSB BSB: Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
37 UDB Yahweh has rescued me from paws of lions and bears, and he will rescue me from this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "All right, go and fight him, and I hope that Yahweh will help you!" BSB BSB: David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”
David Slays Goliath 38 UDB Then Saul gave to David his own clothes that he always wore in battles, and he gave him a bronze helmet and a coat made of metal plates. BSB BSB: Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.
39 UDB David put these things on. Then he fastened his sword over them and tried to walk. But he could not walk, because he was not accustomed to wearing those things. So David said to Saul, "I cannot fight wearing all these things, because I am not accustomed to wearing them!" So he took them off. BSB BSB: David strapped his sword over the tunic and tried to walk, but he was not accustomed to them. “I cannot walk in these,” David said to Saul. “I am not accustomed to them.” So David took them off.
40 UDB Then he took his walking staff and he chose five smooth stones out of a streambed. He put them in the pouch of his shoulder bag. Then he put his sling in his hand and started walking toward Goliath. BSB BSB: And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.
41 UDB Goliath walked toward David, with the soldier who was carrying his shield walking in front of him. When he got near David, BSB BSB: Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him.
42 UDB he looked at David closely. He saw that David had a handsome face and healthy body but that he was only a young man. So he sneered at David. BSB BSB: When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
44 UDB He said to David, "Come here to me, and I will kill you and give your dead body to the birds and wild animals to eat!" BSB BSB: “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 UDB David replied, "You are coming to me with a sword and a spear and a small spear. But I am coming to you in the name of Yahweh, commander of the angel armies. He is the God whom the army of Israel worships, and he is the God whom you have defied. BSB BSB: But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 UDB Today Yahweh will enable me to defeat you. I will strike you down and cut off your head. And we Israelites will kill many Philistine soldiers and give their bodies to the birds and wild animals to eat. And everyone in the world will hear about it and know that we Israelite people worship an all-powerful God. BSB BSB: This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
47 UDB And everyone here will know that Yahweh can rescue people without a sword or a spear. Yahweh always wins his battles, and he will enable us to defeat all of you Philistines." BSB BSB: And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
48 UDB As Goliath came closer to attack David, David ran quickly toward him. BSB BSB: As the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
49 UDB He put his hand into his shoulder bag and took out one stone. He put it in his sling and hurled it toward Goliath. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead and cracked his skull, and he fell facedown to the ground. BSB BSB: Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 UDB Then David ran and stood over Goliath. He pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath and killed him with it, and then cut off his head. In that way David defeated the Philistine without having his own sword. He used only a sling and a stone! When the other Philistines saw that their great warrior was dead, they ran away. BSB BSB: Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
53 UDB When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered the Philistine camp. BSB BSB: When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.
54 UDB David later took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath's weapons in his own tent. BSB BSB: David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 UDB As Saul watched David going toward Goliath, he said to Abner, the commander of his army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?" Abner replied, "As sure as you are alive, I do not know." BSB BSB: As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”
56 UDB Then the king said, "Find out whose son he is!" BSB BSB: “Find out whose son this young man is!” said the king.
57 UDB Later, as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner took him to Saul. David was carrying Goliath's head. BSB BSB: So when David returned from killing the Philistine, still holding his head in his hand, Abner took him and brought him before Saul.
58 UDB Saul asked him, "Young man, whose son are you?" David replied, "Sir, I am the son of your servant Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem." BSB BSB: “Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.
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