David And Goliath

David And Goliath

 

NOW the Philistines gathered their forces for battle.
 They gathered at Shochoh, and they camped in Ephesdammim.
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and camped in the valley of Elah, lined up in battle array against the Philistines.

The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side,and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side,and there was a valley between them.

Out from the camp of the Philistines came a champion named Goliath of Gath,
 whose height was nine feet and nine inches.
 He had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail,
 and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
He had plates of brass upon his legs, and a shield of brass between his shoulders.
 The staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam,
 and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron.
A shield bearer walked before him.

GOLIATH CHALLENGES THE ISRAELITES

Goliath stood and cried out to the armies of Israel: "Why have you come out to set up your armies in battle array? Am I not a Philistine, and you servants of Saul? Choose a man to represent you and let him come down to me.
 If he can fight me and kill me, then we will be your servants,
 but if I win over him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."
 And he added: "I defy the armies of Israel this day; send me a man that we may fight together."

When Saul and all the Israelites heard those words of the Philistine,
they were dismayed and very much frightened.
 And every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine drew near and challenged the Israelites.

David at this time left the court of Saul to go home and feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
 His three eldest brothers were in the army of Saul.
Now Jesse said to David his son: "Take a measure of this parched grain and these ten loaves for your brothers and run to your brothers' camp.
 Take these ten cheeses to the captain of their group,
 and see how your brothers are faring."

David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper,
 and departed as Jesse had commanded him.
He came to the battle line just as the army was going out to fight, shouting their battle cry.
 For Israel and the Philistines had put the army in battle array, army against army.
David left his baggage in the hands of the keeper of the baggage,
 and ran among the army. He came up to his brothers and saluted them.

As he talked with them, there appeared the champion Goliath,
 out of the armies of the Philistines, and he made his challenge, and David heard it.
All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. "Have you seen this man who came up?" the men of Israel said.
"He has come up to challenge Israel,
 and to the man who can kill him the king wiil give great riches,
 and he will give him his daughter in marriage,
 and will make his father's house free in Israel."

And David spoke to the men who stood near him, saying: "Who is this heathen Philistine, that he should challenge the armies of the living God?"

Eliab, his eldest brother, heard him speak to the men,
 and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said:"Why did you come down here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down just so that you might see the battle."

David said: "What have I now done? Is there not a reason?" He turned from him towards another man and spoke to him in the same way, and the people spoke again of the reward.

And when the people heard the words which David spoke, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for the boy.

 

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