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          DASV: 1 Samuel 17    

1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. They
rallied together at Socoh in Judah, and camped between Socoh
and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.
2 Then Saul and the men of Israel assembled, camped in the
valley of Elah, and took up their battle positions against
the Philistines.
3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side,
and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side,
with the valley between them.

4 A champion came out of the Philistine camp named Goliath
of Gath. He was over nine feet tall.
5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was wearing
a body armor coat of mail weighing 125 pounds.
6 He had bronze armor on his legs, and a bronze javelin
slung over his shoulder.
7 The staff of his spear was as thick as a weaver's beam.
The iron that tipped the spear weighed 15 pounds itself,
and his armor bearer went before him.
8 He stood and shouted at the Israelite troops, "Why have
you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not a Philistine,
and you servants of Saul? Choose a man so that he may come
down to fight me.
9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then will we
be your slaves; but if I overcome and kill him, then you
will be our slaves and serve us."
10 The Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel today.
Give me a man, so that we may fight together."

11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine,
they were dismayed and terrified.
12 Now David was the son of Jesse an Ephrathite from
Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons, and in the days
of Saul, he was old and well on in years.
13 The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the
battle. The names of his three sons who went to war were Eliab,
the firstborn, and after to him Abinadab, and the third
oldest was Shammah.
14 David was the youngest, and the three oldest brothers
followed Saul.
15 Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's
sheep at Bethlehem.
16 For forty days, the Philistine came out and took his stand
every morning and evening.

17 Jesse said to David his son, "Take your brothers this basket
of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry
them quickly to the camp of your brothers.
18 Bring these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their
thousand, and find out how your brothers are doing, and bring
back some token from them."
19 They were with Saul and all the Israelite army in the
valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 David got up early in the morning, left the sheep with
another shepherd. He loaded up and went as Jesse had told
him to. He arrived at the camp just as the army was going
out to the battlefield shouting its battle cry.
21 Then Israel and the Philistines drew up battle lines,
army against army.
22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies,
while he ran to the troops and greeted his brothers.
23 As he was talking with them, the champion Goliath the
Philistine of Gath came out of the ranks of the Philistines,
and shouted out as he usually did, and David heard it.
24 When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from
him in fear.

25 Then the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who
comes up? He comes up to defy Israel. Whoever kills him,
the king will give a huge reward, and will give him his
daughter in marriage, and will free his father's house
from taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men who stood near him, "What will be
done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes
away the reproach from Israel? For who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the
armies of the living God?"
27 The soldiers told him the same thing, "This is what
will be done for the man who kills him."
28 But when Eliab, his eldest brother, overheard him speaking
to the men, he was angry with David, and he said, "Why did you
come down here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in
the wilderness? I know your arrogance and evil heart. You have
come down just so that you can see the battle."
29 But David replied, "What have I done now? It was just
a question?"
30 He turned away from him, went over to someone else, and he
asked the same thing to them, and they gave him the same answer.
31 When David’s questions were overheard, they reported them
to Saul; and he sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged because
of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to fight this
Philistine. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior
from his youth.”
34 David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father's
sheep and when a lion or a bear came to carry off a lamb
from the flock,
35 I went out after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb
from its mouth. If it attacked me, I grabbed it by its jaw,
and struck and killed it.
36 Your servant struck down both the lion and the bear,
this uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them,
seeing he has defied the armies of the living God."
37 Then David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the
paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear, will
deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."
Then Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

38 Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a bronze
helmet on his head and had him put on body armor.
39 David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and tried
to move around because he was not used to it. David said
to Saul, "I cannot go with these; for I am not used to
them." So David took them off.

40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth
stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd's bag,
in his pouch; with his sling in his hand, he moved in
on the Philistine.
41 The Philistine moved forward toward David with his
shield bearer going before him.
42 When the Philistine looked David over, he despised him;
for he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome.

43 The Philistine mocked David, "Am I a dog, that you come
after me with sticks?" So the Philistine cursed David
by his gods.
44 Then the Philistine threatened David, "Come here, and
I will give your flesh to the birds of the air, and to
the beasts of the field."
45 Then David retorted to the Philistine, "You come against
me with a sword, 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 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand;
and I will strike you down, and cut off your head.
Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army
to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the
earth; so that all the earth may know that there
is a God in Israel,
47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD
saves not by the sword or spear, for the battle is
the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand."

48 When the Philistine approached to attack him, David
quickly ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
49 Then David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone
and slung it, striking the Philistine right in his
forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he
fell on his face to the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling
and a stone. He struck down the Philistine, and
killed him without even a sword in David’s hand.
51 Then David ran up, stood over the Philistine, took
his sword drawn it out of its sheath, killed him and
cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw
that their champion was dead, they fled.

52 The men of Israel and of Judah advanced, shouting
and chasing the Philistines as far as Gath and the
gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses were scattered
all along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.
53 Then the Israelites came back from chasing the
Philistines and plundered their camp.
54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought
it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.

55 When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine,
he asked Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner,
whose son is this young man?" Abner replied,
"As surely as you live, O king, I really don’t know."
56 The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is."
57 After David returned from the slaughter of the
Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before
Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 Then Saul asked him, "Young man, whose son are you?"
David answered, "I am the son of your servant
Jesse from Bethlehem."

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