1 Samuel Chapter 17
Other Translations
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
1
And the Philistines gather their armies to battle, and gather themselves to Socchoth of Judæa, and encamp between Socchoth and Azeca Ephermen.
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And Saul and the men of Israel gather together, and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
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And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them.
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And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath by name, out of Geth, his height [was] four cubits and a span.
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And [he had] a helmet upon his head, and he wore a breastplate of chain armour; and the weight of his breastplate [was] five thousand shekels of brass and iron.
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And greaves of brass [were] upon his legs, and a brazen target [was] between his shoulders.
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And the staff of his spear [was] like a weavers' beam, and the spear's head [was formed] of six hundred shekels of iron; and his armour-bearer went before him.
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And he stood and cried to the army of Israel, and said to them, Why are ye come forth to set yourselves in battle array against us? Am not I a Philistine, and ye Hebrews of Saul? choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.
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And if he shall be able to fight against me, and shall smite me, then will we be your servants: but if I should prevail and smite him, ye shall be our servants, and serve us.
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And the Philistine said, Behold, I have defied the armies of Israel this very day: give me a man, and we will both of us fight in single combat.
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And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed, and greatly terrified.
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[And David son of an Ephrathite said, this Ephrathite was of Bethleem Juda, and his name was Jessae, and he had eight sons. And the man passed for an old man among men in the days of Saul. ]
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[And the three elder sons of Jessae went and followed Saul to the war, and the ] [names of his sons that went to the war were, Eliab his first-born, and his second Aminadab, and his third son Samma. ]
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[And David himself ] [was the younger son, and the three elder followed Saul. ]
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[And David departed and returned from Saul, ] [to feed his father’s sheep in Bethleem; ]
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[And the Philistine advanced morning and evening, and stood up forty days. ]
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[And Jessae said to David, Take now to thy brethren an ephah of this meal, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp and give them to thy brothers. ]
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[And thou shalt carry to the captain of the thousand ] [these ten cheeses of milk, and thou shalt see how thy brethren fare, and learn what they want. ]
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[And Saul himself and all the men of Israel were in the valley of the Oak, warring with the Philistines. ]
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[And David rose early in the morning, and left the sheep to a keeper, and took and went as Jessae commanded him, and he came to the trench and to the army as it was going out to fight, and they shouted for the battle. ]
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[And Israel and the Philistines formed their lines one opposite the other. ]
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[And David deposited his burden in the hand of a keeper, and ran to the line, and went and asked his brethren how they Were. ]
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[And while he was speaking with them, behold the Amessaean advanced, Goliath by name, the Philistine of Geth, of the armies of the Philistines, and he spoke ] [as before, and David heard. ]
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[And all the men of Israel when they saw the man fled from before him, and they were greatly terrified. ]
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[And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that comes up? for he has reproached Israel and has come up; and it shall be that the man who shall smite him, the king shall enrich him with great wealth and shall give him his daughter, and shall make his father’s house free in Israel. ]
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[and David spoke to the men who stood with him saying, Shall it indeed be done thus to the man who shall smite that Philistine, and take away reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has defied the army of the living God? ]
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[And the people spoke to him according to this Word, saying Thus shall it be done to the man Who shall smite him. ]
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[And Eliab his elder brother heard as he spoke to the men, and Eliab was very angry with David and said, Why hast thou thus come down, and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart, for thou art come down to see the battle. ]
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[And David said what have I done now? ] [Have I no business here? ]
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[And he turned from him towards another, and he spoke after the same manner; and the people answered him ] [after the former manner. ]
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[And the Words which David spoke were heard and were reported ] [to Saul. And he took him to himself. ]
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And David said to Saul, Let not, I pray thee, the heart of my lord be dejected within him: thy servant will go, and fight with this Philistine.
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And Saul said to David, Thou wilt not in anywise be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art a mere youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
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And David said to Saul, Thy servant was tending the flock for his father; and when a lion came and a she-bear, and took a sheep out of the flock,
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then I went forth after him, and smote him, and drew [the spoil] out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I caught hold of his throat, and smote him, and slew him.
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Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear, and the uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them: shall I not go and smite him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised one, who has defied the army of the living God?
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The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord shall be with thee.
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And Saul clothed David with a military coat, and [put] his brazen helmet on his head.
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And he girt David with his sword over his coat: and he made trial walking [with them] once and again: and David said to Saul, I shall not be able to go with these, for I have not proved [them]: so they remove them from him.
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And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's scrip which he had for his store, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
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And Goliath saw David, and despised him; for he was a lad, and ruddy, with a fair countenance.
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And the Philistine said to David, Am I as a dog, that thou comest against me with a staff and stones? [and David said, Nay, but worse than a dog.] And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
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And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth.
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And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord God of hosts of the army of Israel, which thou hast defied
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this day. And the Lord shall deliver thee this day into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from off thee, and will give thy limbs and the limbs of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.
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And all this assembly shall know that the Lord delivers not by sword or spear, for the battle [is] the Lord's, and the Lord will deliver you into our hands.
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And the Philistine arose and went to meet David.
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And David stretched out his hand to his scrip, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground.
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And David ran, and stood upon him, and took his sword, and slew him, and cut off his head: and the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and they fled.
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And the men of Israel and Juda arose, and shouted and pursued them as far as the entrance to Geth, and as far as the gate of Ascalon: and the slain men of the Philistines fell in the way of the gates, both to Geth, and to Accaron.
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And the men of Israel returned from pursuing after the Philistines, and they destroyed their camp.
54
And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
1
Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephesdammim.
2
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
3
The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4
A champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span went out.
5
He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he wore a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
6
He had bronze shin armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.
7
The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. His shield bearer went before him.
8
He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
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If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.”
10
The Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel today! Give me a man, that we may fight together!”
11
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons. The man was an elderly old man in the days of Saul.
13
The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
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David was the youngest; and the three oldest followed Saul.
15
Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16
The Philistine came near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
17
Jesse said to David his son, “Now take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers;
18
and bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand; and see how your brothers are doing, and bring back news.”
19
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20
David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the place of the wagons as the army which was going out to the fight shouted for the battle.
21
Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
22
David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
23
As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and said the same words; and David heard them.
24
All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were terrified.
25
The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? He has surely come up to defy Israel. The king will give great riches to the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house tax-free in Israel.”
26
David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done to 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 people answered him in this way, saying, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
28
Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.”
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David said, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?”
30
He turned away from him toward another, and spoke like that again; and the people answered him again the same way.
31
When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.
32
David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33
Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
34
David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
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I went out after him, struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, struck him, and killed him.
36
Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”
37
David said, “The LORD, who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go! The LORD will be with you.”
38
Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of bronze on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
39
David strapped his sword on his clothing and he tried to move, for he had not tested it. David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these, for I have not tested them.” Then David took them off.
40
He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine.
41
The Philistine walked and came near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him.
42
When the Philistine looked around and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and had a good looking face.
43
The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44
The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the field.”
45
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46
Today, the LORD will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky and to the wild animals of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
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and that all this assembly may know that the LORD doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
48
When the Philistine arose, and walked and came near to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49
David put his hand in his bag, took a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.
51
Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew 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 arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as Gai and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and to Ekron.
53
The children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they 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 said to Abner, the captain of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I can’t tell.”
56
The king said, “Inquire whose son the young man is!”
57
As 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.
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Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, you young man?” David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).