New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.
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The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. They deployed them at Socoh in Judah, and set up camp between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim.
2 Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah.
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Saul and the Israelites came together, camped at Oak Valley, and spread out their troops in battle readiness for the Philistines.
3 So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.
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The Philistines were on one hill, the Israelites on the opposing hill, with the valley between them.
4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!
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A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath.
5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds.
5
He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor - 126 pounds of it!
6 He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder.
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He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword.
7 The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.
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His spear was like a fence rail - the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. His shield bearer walked ahead of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me!
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Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops, "Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best fighter and pit him against me.
9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!
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If he gets the upper hand and kills me, the Philistines will all become your slaves. But if I get the upper hand and kill him, you'll all become our slaves and serve us.
10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!”
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I challenge the troops of Israel this day. Give me a man. Let us fight it out together!"
11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.
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When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.
12 Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons.
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Enter David. He was the son of Jesse the Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse, the father of eight sons, was himself too old to join Saul's army.
13 Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea —had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines.
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Jesse's three older sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who had joined up with Saul were Eliab, the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah.
14 David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army,
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David was the youngest son. While his three oldest brothers went to war with Saul, David went back and forth from attending to Saul to tending his father's sheep in Bethlehem.
15 but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.
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16 For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.
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Each morning and evening for forty days, Goliath took his stand and made his speech.
17 One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers.
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One day, Jesse told David his son, "Take this sack of cracked wheat and these ten loaves of bread and run them down to your brothers in the camp.
18 And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing. ”
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And take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of their division. Check in on your brothers to see whether they are getting along all right, and let me know how they're doing
19 David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.
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- Saul and your brothers, and all the Israelites in their war with the Philistines in the Oak Valley."
20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.
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David was up at the crack of dawn and, having arranged for someone to tend his flock, took the food and was on his way just as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the army was moving into battle formation, shouting the war cry.
21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army.
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Israel and the Philistines moved into position, facing each other, battle-ready.
22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers.
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David left his bundles of food in the care of a sentry, ran to the troops who were deployed, and greeted his brothers.
23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
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While they were talking together, the Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, stepped out from the front lines of the Philistines, and gave his usual challenge. David heard him.
24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.
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The Israelites, to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant - totally frightened.
25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
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The talk among the troops was, "Have you ever seen anything like this, this man openly and defiantly challenging Israel? The man who kills the giant will have it made. The king will give him a huge reward, offer his daughter as a bride, and give his entire family a free ride."
26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
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David, who was talking to the men standing around him, asked, "What's in it for the man who kills that Philistine and gets rid of this ugly blot on Israel's honor? Who does he think he is, anyway, this uncircumcised Philistine, taunting the armies of God-Alive?"
27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”
27
They told him what everyone was saying about what the king would do for the man who killed the Philistine.
28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
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Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: "What are you doing here! Why aren't you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you're up to. You've come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!"
29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”
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"What is it with you?" replied David. "All I did was ask a question."
30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.
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Ignoring his brother, he turned to someone else, asked the same question, and got the same answer as before.
31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
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The things David was saying were picked up and reported to Saul. Saul sent for him.
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
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"Master," said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this Philistine."
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
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Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced - and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock,
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David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock,
35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
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I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it.
36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
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Lion or bear, it made no difference - I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive.
37 The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the LORD be with you!”
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God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine." Saul said, "Go. And God help you!"
38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.
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Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor.
39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.
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David tried to walk but he could hardly budge. David told Saul, "I can't even move with all this stuff on me. I'm not used to this." And he took it all off.
40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
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Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.
41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him,
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As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David.
42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy.
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He took one look down on him and sneered - a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.
43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.
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The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods.
44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.
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"Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice."
45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
45
David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock.
46 Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!
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This very day God is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel.
47 And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD ’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
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And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God - he's handing you to us on a platter!"
48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.
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That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine.
49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
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David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.
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That's how David beat the Philistine - with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David!
51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. Israel Routs the Philistines When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.
51
Then David ran up to the Philistine and stood over him, pulled the giant's sword from its sheath, and finished the job by cutting off his head. When the Philistines saw that their great champion was dead, they scattered, running for their lives.
52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.
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The men of Israel and Judah were up on their feet, shouting! They chased the Philistines all the way to the outskirts of Gath and the gates of Ekron.
53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.
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Wounded Philistines were strewn along the Shaaraim road all the way to Gath and Ekron. After chasing the Philistines, the Israelites came back and looted their camp.
54 (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)
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David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem. But the giant's weapons he placed in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
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When Saul saw David go out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, "Tell me about this young man's family." Abner said, "For the life of me, O King, I don't know."
56 “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
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The king said, "Well, find out the lineage of this raw youth."
57 As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.
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As soon as David came back from killing the Philistine, Abner brought him, the Philistine's head still in his hand, straight to Saul.
58 “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said. And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”
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Saul asked him, "Young man, whose son are you?" "I'm the son of your servant Jesse," said David, "the one who lives in Bethlehem."
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.