25
The soldiers from Isra'el said [to each other], "You saw that man who just came up? He has come to challenge Isra'el. To whoever kills him, the king will give a rich reward; he'll also give him his daughter and exempt his father's family from all service and taxes in Isra'el."
26
David said to the men standing with him, "What reward will be given to the man who kills this P'lishti and removes this disgrace from Isra'el? Who is this uncircumcised P'lishti anyway, that he challenges the armies of the living God?"
27
The people answered with what they had been saying, adding, "That's what will be done for the man who kills him."
28
Eli'av his oldest brother heard when David spoke to the men, and it made Eli'av angry at him. He asked, "Why did you come down here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is! You just came down to watch the fighting."
29
David said, "What have I done now? I only asked a question."
30
He turned away from him to someone else and asked the same question, and the people gave him the same answer.
31
David's words were overheard and told to Sha'ul, who summoned him.
32
David said to Sha'ul, "No one should lose heart because of him; your servant will go and fight this P'lishti."
33
Sha'ul said to David, "You can't go to fight this P'lishti -you're just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!"
34
David answered Sha'ul, "Your servant used to guard his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear would come and grab a lamb from the flock,
35
I would go after it, hit it, and snatch the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned on me, I would catch it by the jaw, smack it and kill it.