1
And the Pelishtim gathered their camps for war, and they gathered at Sokhoh, which belongs to Yehudah, and encamped between Sokhoh and Azeqah, at Efes-Dammim.
2
And Shaul and the ish of Yisra’el gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Pelishtim.
3
And the Pelishtim stood upon the mountain on this side, and Yisra’el stood upon the mountain on that side, and the valley was between them.
4
And an ish, a champion, went out from the camps of the Pelishtim, and his name was Golyat, from Gat. His height was six cubits and a span.
5
And a helmet of bronze was upon his head, and he was clothed with a coat of scale armor, and the weight of the coat was five thousand sheqels of bronze.
6
And greaves of bronze were upon his legs, and a bronze javelin was between his shoulders.
7
And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the blade of his spear weighed six hundred sheqels of iron. And the bearer of his shield walked before his face.
8
And he stood and called to the battle lines of Yisra’el and said to them, “Why do you come out to arrange yourselves for battle? Am I not the Pelishti, and are you not servants of Shaul? Choose for yourselves an ish, and let him come down to me.
9
If he is able to fight with me and strike me, then we shall become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.”
10
And the Pelishti said, “I reproach the battle lines of Yisra’el this day. Give me an ish, that we may fight together.”
11
And Shaul and all Yisra’el heard these words of the Pelishti, and they were shattered and feared exceedingly.
12
And Daviyd was the son of that Efrati ish from Beit-Lechem of Yehudah whose name was Yishai, and he had eight sons. And the ish was old in the days of Shaul, advanced among men.
13
And the three oldest sons of Yishai had gone after Shaul to war. And the names of his three sons who went to war were Eliav the firstborn, and his second Avinadav, and the third Shammah.
14
And Daviyd was the youngest. And the three oldest went after Shaul.
15
But Daviyd went and returned from Shaul to shepherd the flock of his father at Beit-Lechem.
16
And the Pelishti drew near morning and evening and presented himself forty days.
17
And Yishai said to Daviyd his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers.
18
And these ten cuts of cheese bring to the commander of their thousand. And visit your brothers concerning shalom, and take their pledge.
19
And Shaul, and they, and all the ish of Yisra’el are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Pelishtim.”
20
And Daviyd rose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper, and carried and went according to what Yishai had commanded him. And he came to the wagon enclosure as the host was going out to the battle line and shouting for the battle.
21
And Yisra’el and the Pelishtim arranged battle line against battle line.
22
And Daviyd left the vessels from upon him in the hand of the keeper of the vessels, and ran to the battle line and came and asked his brothers concerning shalom.
23
And as he spoke with them, see, the champion, Golyat the Pelishti from Gat, came up from the battle lines of the Pelishtim and spoke according to these same words, and Daviyd heard.
24
And every ish of Yisra’el, when they saw the ish, fled from before his face and feared exceedingly.
25
And the ish of Yisra’el said, “Have you seen this ish who comes up? For he comes up to reproach Yisra’el. And it shall be that the ish who strikes him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and he will give him his daughter, and he will make the house of his father free in Yisra’el.”
26
And Daviyd spoke to the men standing with him, saying, “What shall be done for the ish who strikes this Pelishti and removes reproach from upon Yisra’el? For who is this uncircumcised Pelishti, that he should reproach the battle lines of the living Elohim?”
27
And the people spoke to him according to this word, saying, “Thus shall it be done to the ish who strikes him.”
28
And Eliav his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men, and the anger of Eliav burned against Daviyd, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you came down in order to see the battle.”
29
And Daviyd said, “What have I done now? Was it not only a word?”
30
And he turned from beside him toward another and spoke according to this same word, and the people returned him a word as at the first.
31
And the words that Daviyd spoke were heard, and they declared them before Shaul, and he took him.
32
And Daviyd said to Shaul, “Let no heart of Adam fall because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Pelishti.”
33
And Shaul said to Daviyd, “You are not able to go against this Pelishti to fight with him, for you are a young man, and he is an ish of war from his youth.”
34
And Daviyd said to Shaul, “Your servant was shepherding the flock of his father, and the lion came, and the bear, and carried away a sheep from the flock.
35
And I went out after it and struck it and delivered it from its mouth. And it rose against me, and I seized it by its beard and struck it and put it to death.
36
Both the lion and the bear your servant struck. And this uncircumcised Pelishti shall be as one of them, because he has reproached the battle lines of the living Elohim.”
37
And Daviyd said, “Yahuah, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Pelishti.” And Shaul said to Daviyd, “Go, and may Yahuah be with you.”
38
And Shaul clothed Daviyd with his garments and placed a helmet of bronze upon his head, and clothed him with a coat of armor.
39
And Daviyd girded his sword over his garments and attempted to walk, for he had not tested them. And Daviyd said to Shaul, “I am not able to walk with these, for I have not tested them.” And Daviyd removed them from upon him.
40
And he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the wadi, and placed them in the shepherd’s vessel that he had, even in the pouch. And his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Pelishti.
41
And the Pelishti walked, coming nearer and nearer to Daviyd, and the ish bearing the shield was before his face.
42
And the Pelishti looked and saw Daviyd, and despised him, for he was a young man, red-complexioned, and beautiful in appearance.
43
And the Pelishti said to Daviyd, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with staffs?” And the Pelishti cursed Daviyd by his elohim.
44
And the Pelishti said to Daviyd, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the field.”
45
And Daviyd said to the Pelishti, “You come to me with sword, and with spear, and with javelin. But I come to you in the name of Yahuah of Hosts, Elohim of the battle lines of Yisra’el, whom you have reproached.
46
This day Yahuah will give you into my hand, and I will strike you and remove your head from upon you. And I will give the corpses of the camp of the Pelishtim this day to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth, and all the earth shall know that there is Elohim in Yisra’el.
47
And all this assembly shall know that not by sword and not by spear does Yahuah save, for the battle belongs to Yahuah, and He will give you into our hand.”
48
And it came to pass, when the Pelishti rose and walked and drew near to meet Daviyd, that Daviyd hurried and ran toward the battle line to meet the Pelishti.
49
And Daviyd sent his hand into the vessel and took from there a stone and slung it, and struck the Pelishti upon his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50
And Daviyd prevailed over the Pelishti with the sling and with the stone, and struck the Pelishti and put him to death. And there was no sword in the hand of Daviyd.
51
And Daviyd ran and stood over the Pelishti, and took his sword and drew it from its sheath, and put him to death and cut off his head with it. And the Pelishtim saw that their mighty one was dead, and they fled.
52
And the ish of Yisra’el and Yehudah rose and shouted and pursued the Pelishtim as far as the entrance of the valley and as far as the gates of Eqron. And the slain of the Pelishtim fell by the way of Shaarayim, even as far as Gat and as far as Eqron.
53
And the sons of Yisra’el returned from pursuing hotly after the Pelishtim and plundered their camps.
54
And Daviyd took the head of the Pelishti and brought it to Yerushalayim, but his weapons he placed in his tent.
55
And when Shaul saw Daviyd going out to meet the Pelishti, he said to Avner, commander of the host, “Whose son is this young man, Avner?” And Avner said, “As your being lives, O king, I do not know.”
56
And the king said, “Ask whose son this youth is.”
57
And as Daviyd returned from striking the Pelishti, Avner took him and brought him before Shaul, with the head of the Pelishti in his hand.
58
And Shaul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And Daviyd said, “The son of your servant Yishai the Beit-Lechemi.”