1 Samuel 17:26-52

17:26 David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? ¹  For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?” 17:27 The soldiers ²  told him what had been promised, saying, ³  “This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down.”

17:28 When David’s ⁴  oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry ⁵  with David and said, “Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! ⁶  You have come down here to watch the battle!”

17:29 David replied, “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?” ⁷  17:30 Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, ⁸  but they ⁹  gave him the same answer as before. 17:31 When David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him. ¹⁰ 

17:32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. ¹¹  Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 17:33 But Saul replied to David, “You aren’t able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You’re just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth!”

17:34 David replied to Saul, “Your servant has been a shepherd for his father’s flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, 17:35 I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. 17:36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. ¹²  For he has defied the armies of the living God!” 17:37 David went on to say, “The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine!” Then Saul said to David, “Go! The Lord will be with you.” ¹³ 

17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. 17:39 David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. ¹⁴  David said to Saul, “I can’t walk in these things, for I’m not used to them.” So David removed them. 17:40 He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch ¹⁵  of his shepherd’s bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine.

17:41 ¹⁶ The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. 17:42 When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. 17:43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?” ¹⁷  Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 17:44 The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!” ¹⁸ 

17:45 But David replied to the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! 17:46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God 17:47 and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”

17:48 The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. ¹⁹  17:49 David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground.

17:50 ²⁰ David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. ²¹  17:51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath’s ²²  sword, drew it from its sheath, ²³  killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away.

17:52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. ²⁴  They chased the Philistines to the valley ²⁵  and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

[17:26]  ¹ tn Heb “and turns aside humiliation from upon Israel.”

[17:27]  ² tn Heb “people.”

[17:27]  ³ tn Heb “according to this word, saying.”

[17:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “the anger of Eliab became hot.”

[17:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “the wickedness of your heart.”

[17:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “Is it not [just] a word?”

[17:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “and spoke according to this word.”

[17:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “the people.”

[17:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he took him.”

[17:32]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let not the heart of a man fall upon him.” The LXX reads “my lord,” instead of “a man.”

[17:36]  ¹² tc The LXX includes here the following words not found in the MT: “Should I not go and smite him, and remove today reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one?”

[17:37]  ¹³ tn Or “Go, and may the Lord be with you” (so NASB, NCV, NRSV).

[17:39]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he had not tested.”

[17:40]  ¹⁵ tn This Hebrew word occurs only here and its exact meaning is not entirely clear. It refers to a receptacle of some sort and apparently was a common part of a shepherd’s equipment. Here it serves as a depository for the stones that David will use in his sling.

[17:41]  ¹⁶ tc Most LXX mss lack v. 41.

[17:43]  ¹⁷ sn Sticks is a pejorative reference to David’s staff (v. 40); the same Hebrew word (מַקֵּל, maqqel) is used for both.

[17:44]  ¹⁸ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have “the earth” here, instead of the MT’s “the field.”

[17:48]  ¹⁹ tc Most LXX mss lack the second half of v. 48.

[17:50]  ²⁰ tc Most LXX mss lack v. 50.

[17:50]  ²¹ tn Verse 50 is a summary statement; v. 51 gives a more detailed account of how David killed the Philistine.

[17:51]  ²² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:51]  ²³ tc Most LXX mss lack the words “drew it from its sheath.”

[17:52]  ²⁴ tn Heb “arose and cried out.”

[17:52]  ²⁵ tc Most of the LXX ms tradition has here “Gath.”