was covered from
head to foot with heavy armor. He carried a huge spear and had a
shield-bearer before him.
He came down to
the valley and, in a thundering voice, cried out to the armies of
the Hebrews, "Why do you not come out and fight? Choose a man
from your midst and let him come to fight me. If he can kill me,
we will be your servants. But if I win and kill him, then you
shall serve us."
When Saul and the
Hebrews saw this great giant, they were terrified, for they
believed that no one of them could beat him. Every morning and
evening, for forty days, Goliath came down and defied the Hebrews.
Now David had
gone home to help his old father with the sheep, for his elder
brothers were soldiers in Saul's army. One day Jesse sent David
with fresh bread and corn for his brothers, and gifts of fine
cheeses for their captains.
David left the
sheep with a keeper and went as his father told him. When he came
to the battleground, he found the armies set for battle, for the
Hebrews had not found anyone to fight Goliath. When David heard
Goliath utter his challenge, he went to Saul and begged to be
allowed to do battle with the giant.
So Saul had David
covered with heavy armor to protect him, and gave him a fine
sword. But these weapons were too heavy, and David did not know
how to handle them; so he took them all off. Then, from the brook
that ran through the valley, David chose five smooth stones and
put them in his shepherd's bag. He carried his staff in one hand
and in the other the sling with which he used to drive off the
wild animals that attacked his flocks. And he went down tot he
valley before Goliath.
When the
Philistines looked about and saw this young boy, he roared, half
in amusement, half in anger, "Am I a dog that you come after
me with a staff? Come, I will feed you to the fowls of the air and
the beasts of the field."
David answered,
"You come with a sword, a spear, and a shield. I come in the
name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom
you have defiled. This day God will deliver you into my hand. And
I will kill you and take your head from you, that all the earth
may know there is a God in Israel."
Then David put
his hand in his bag, took out a stone, and put it in his sling. He
took good aim and swung the sling toward Goliath. The hurling
stone sank into the giant's forehead, and he fell dead.
David then ran up
to the fallen giant, drew out Goliath's own sword, and cut off his
head.
When the
Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. But the
Hebrews pursued them and defeated them. Then the victors returned
and carried off the spoils from the Philistine tents.
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