Goliath’s Challenge

1And the rovers will gather together their camps for war, and they will gather together at Shocoth, which is to Judah, and they will encamp between Shocoth and between Azekah, in the end of Damim. 2And Saul and the man Israel were gathered together, and they will encamp in the valley of Elah, and they arranged the battle to meet the rovers. 3And the rovers standing on the mountain from hence, and Israel standing on the mountain from thence, and the valley between them. 4And there went forth a man of the sons of the camp of the rovers, Goliah his name, from Gath; his height six cubits and a span. 5And a helmet of brass upon his head, and a coat of mail of scales he put on; and the weight of the coat of mail five thousand shekels of brass. 6And brass fronts upon his feet, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders. 7And the arrow of his spear as the beam of weavers, and the flame of his spear, six hundred shekels of iron. And he lifting up a shield went before him. 8And he will stand and call to the ranks of Israel, and say to them, Wherefore will ye come forth to arrange the battle? am not I of the rovers, and ye servants to Saul? select to yourselves a man, and he shall come down to me. 9If he shall be able to war with me and strike me, and we were to you for servants: and if I shall be able against him and strike him, and ye were to us for servants, and ye served us. 10And he of the rovers will say, I upbraided the ranks of Israel this day; ye shall give to me a man and we will fight together. 11And Saul will hear and all Israel, these words of him of the rovers, and they will be terrified and greatly afraid.

David Accepts the Challenge

12And David, son of a man, that Ephrathite, of the House of Bread of Judah, and his name Jesse; and to him eight sons; and the man in the days of Saul went an old man among men. 13And three sons of Jesse, the great ones, going, went after Saul to war: and the names of his three sons which went in the war, Eliab the first-born and his second, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah. 14And David, he the small; and the three great ones went after Saul. 15And David went and turned back from Saul to feed his father's sheep at the House of Bread. 16And he of the rovers will draw near, the morning and the evening, and he will take a stand forty days.

17And Jesse will say to David his son, Take now to thy brethren an ephah of this parched grain, and this ten of bread, and run to the camp to thy brethren. 18And these ten cuttings of milk thou shalt bring to the chief of a thousand; and thou shalt review thy brethren for peace, and take their pledge. 19And Saul, and they, and every man of Israel, in the valley of Elah, warring with the rovers.

20And David will rise early in the morning, and will cast the sheep upon a watcher, and he will lift up and go as Jesse commanded him; and he will come to the track, and the army going forth to the array and they shouted in the war. 21And Israel will arrange, and the rovers, array to meet array. 22And David will cast the utensils from off him upon the hand of the watcher of the utensils, and be will run to the array, and will come and ask to his brethren for peace. 23And he speaking with them, and behold, a man of the sons came up, Goliah of the rovers, his name, from Gath, from the ranks of the rovers: and he will speak according to these words, and David will hear.

24And every man of Israel in their seeing the man, will flee from his face, and they will fear greatly. 25And the man Israel will say, Saw ye this man coming up? for to upbraid Israel he came up: and it was the man who shall strike him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give to him his daughter, and his father's house he will make free in Israel.

26And David will say to the men standing with him, saying, What shall be done to the man who shall strike this one of the rovers, and take away the reproach from Israel? for who this uncircumcised of the rovers? for he upbraided the ranks of the living God. 27And the people will say to him according to this word, saying, Thus it shall be done to the man who shall smite him.

28And Eliab his brother the great, will hear in his speaking to the men, and Eliab's anger will kindle against David, and he will say, Why this camest thou down? and upon whom didst thou cast those few sheep in the desert? I knew thy pride and the evil of thy heart, for in order to see the battle thou camest down. 29And David will say, What did I now? is this not the word? 30And he will turn round from his side to the front of another, and will say according to this word: and the people will turn back word as the former word.

31And the words will be heard which David spake, and they will be announced before Saul, and he will take him. 32And David will say to Saul, man's heart shall not fall on account of him; thy servant will go and fight with this one of the rovers. 33And Saul will say to David, Thou wilt not be able to go against this of the rovers to war with him, for thou a boy, and he a man of war from his youth. 34And David will say to Saul, Thy servant was feeding for his father among the sheep, and there came the lion and with the bear, and lifted up a sheep from the flock. 35And I went forth after him, and I smote him, and I delivered from his mouth: and he arose upon me and I seized upon his beard, and I struck him and killed him. 36Also the lion and the bear thy servant struck: and this uncircumcised of the rovers was as one of them, for he God, upbraided the ranks of the living. 37And David will say, Jehovah who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this rover. And Saul will say to David, Go, and Jehovah shall be with thee.

David Slays Goliath

38And Saul will put his garments upon David, and give a helmet of brass upon his head, and put on him a coat of mail. 39And David will gird his sword over his garments and begin to go, for he tried them not And David will say to Saul, I shall not be able to go with these, for I tried them not And David will take them away from off him. 40And he will take his rod in his hand, and he will choose to him five smooth stones from the torrent, and he will put them in a vessel of the shepherds, which is to him, and in a sack; and his sling in his hand: and he will draw near to him of the rovers.

41And he of the rovers going, went and drew near to David; and the man lifting up the shield before him. 42And he of the rovers will look and will see David, and he will despise him, for he was a boy, and red, with a fair aspect. 43And he of the rovers will say to David, Am I a dog that thou camnest to me with rods? and he of the rovers will curse David by his gods. 44And he of the rovers will say to David, Come to me and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the cattle of the field. 45And David will say to him of the rovers, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, and I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of armies, the God of the ranks of Israel, which thou didst upbraid. 46This day Jehovah will deliver thee into my hand; and I smote thee and took away thy head from off thee, and I gave the carcass of the camp of the rovers this day to the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth: and all the earth shall know that there is a God to Israel. 47And all this assembly shall know that not with sword and with spear Jehovah will save, for to Jehovah the battle, and he gave you into our hand.

48And it was when he of the rovers arose, and he will come and draw near to meet David, and David will hasten and run to the array to meet him of the rovers. 49And David will stretch forth his hand to the vessel and take from thence a stone and sling and strike him of the rovers into his forehead, and the stone will sink into his forehead; and he will fall upon his face to the earth.

50And David will be strong upon him of the rovers with a sling and with a stone, and he will strike him of the rovers and kill him, and no sword in David's hand. 51And David will run and stand upon the rover, and take his sword and draw it from its sheath, and kill him and cut off his head with it. And the rovers will see that their mighty one died, and they will flee. 52And the men of Israel and Judah will rise and shout, and pursue the rovers till thy coming to the valley, and even to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the rovers will fall in the way of the gates, and even to Gath, and even to Ekron. 53And the sons of Israel will turn back from pressing after the rovers, and they will plunder their camps. 54And David will take the head of the rover, and bring it to Jerusalem; and he put his utensils in his tent.

55And when Saul saw David going forth to meet the rover, he said to Abner, chief of the army, Whose son this boy, Abner? and Abner will say, Thy soul lives, O king, if I knew. 56And the king will say, Ask thou whose son this youth. 57And as David turned back from striking the rover, and Abner will take him and bring him before Saul, and the head of the rover in his hand. 58And Saul will say to him, Whose son thou, O youth? And David will say, Thy servant the son of Jesse of the House of Bread.