1 Samuel 17:32-47

Legacy Standard Bible

³² And David said to Saul, “^(A)Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; ^(B)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ Then Saul said to David, “^(C)You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep. And a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ and I would go out after it and strike it and ^(D)rescue the lamb from its mouth. Then it rose up against me, and I would seize it by its beard and strike it down and put it to death. ³⁶ Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has ^[a]reproached the battle lines of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, “^(E)Yahweh, 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 Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “^(F)Go, and may Yahweh be with you.” ³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his robes and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. ³⁹ And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them ^[b]off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and ^(G)his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Then the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² And the Philistine looked and saw David. And ^(H)he despised him; for he was but a youth and ^(I)ruddy, with a handsome appearance. ⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, “^(J)Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And ^(K)the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^(L)to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” ⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, ^(M)but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have ^[c]reproached. ⁴⁶ This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the ^(N)dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, ^(O)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this assembly may know that ^(P)Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; ^(Q)for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.”