The Philistines gathered their armies together for war. They met at Socoh in Judah. Their camp was between Socoh and Azekah, at a town called Ephes Dammim.
Saul and the Israelite soldiers also gathered together. Their camp was in the Valley of Elah. Saul's soldiers were lined up and ready to fight the Philistines.
He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a coat of armor that was made like the scales on a fish. This armor was made of bronze and weighed about 125 pounds.
The wooden part of his spear was as big as a weaver's rod. The spear's blade weighed 15 pounds. Goliath's helper walked in front of him, carrying Goliath's shield.
Each day Goliath would come out and shout a challenge to the Israelite soldiers. He would say, "Why are all of your soldiers lined up ready for battle? You are Saul's servants. I am a Philistine. So choose one man and send him to fight me.
If that man kills me, he wins and we Philistines will become your slaves. But if I kill your man, then I win, and you will become our slaves. You will have to serve us."
Also take these ten pieces of cheese for the officer who commands your brothers' group of 1000 soldiers. See how your brothers are doing. Bring back something to show me your brothers are all right.
Early in the morning, David had another shepherd take care of the sheep while he took the food and left as Jesse had told him to. David drove their wagon to the camp. The soldiers were going out to their battle positions just as David arrived. The soldiers began shouting their war cry.
While David was talking with his brothers, the Philistine champion fighter came out from the Philistine army. This was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath. Goliath shouted things against Israel as usual. David heard what he said.
One of the Israelite men said, "Did you see that man? Look at him! He comes out each day and makes fun of Israel. Whoever kills him will get rich. King Saul will give him a lot of money. Saul will also let his daughter marry the man who kills Goliath. He will also make that man's family free from taxes in Israel."
David asked the men standing near him, "What did he say? What is the reward for killing this Philistine and taking away this shame from Israel? Who is this Goliath anyway? He is only some foreigner, nothing but a Philistine. Why does he think he can speak against the army of the living God?"
David's oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers and became angry. Eliab asked David, "Why did you come here? Who did you leave those few sheep with in the desert? I know why you came down here. You didn't want to do what you were told to do. You just wanted to come down here to watch the battle."
But David said to Saul, "There were times when I was taking care of my father's sheep that wild animals came to take some sheep from the flock. Once there was a lion and another time, a bear.
I chased that wild animal, attacked it, and took the sheep from its mouth. The wild animal jumped on me, but I caught it by the fur under its mouth. And I hit it and killed it.
I killed both a lion and a bear like that! And I will kill that foreigner, Goliath, just like them. Goliath will die because he made fun of the army of the living God.
David put on the sword and tried to walk around. He tried to wear Saul's uniform, but David was not used to all those heavy things. David said to Saul, "I can't fight in these things. I'm not used to them." So David took them all off.
He took his walking stick in his hand and went to find five smooth stones from the stream. He put the five stones in his shepherd's bag and held his sling in his hand. Then he went out to meet the Philistine.
Goliath said to David, "What is that stick for? Did you come to chase me away like a dog?" Then Goliath used the names of his gods to say curses against David.
David said to the Philistine, "You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All- Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said bad things about him.
Today the Lord will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel.
All the people gathered here will know that the Lord doesn't need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the Lord, and he will help us defeat all of you."
David took out a stone from his bag. He put it in his sling and swung the sling. The stone flew from the sling and hit Goliath right between the eyes. The stone sank deep into his head, and Goliath fell to the ground—face down.
so he ran and stood beside the Philistine. Then David took Goliath's own sword out of its sheath and used it to cut off his head. That is how David killed the Philistine. When the other Philistines saw their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
The soldiers of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. The Israelites chased them all the way to the city limits of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. They killed many of the Philistines. Their bodies were scattered along the Shaaraim road all the way to Gath and Ekron.
Saul watched David go out to fight Goliath. Saul spoke to Abner, the commander of the army. "Abner, who is that young man's father?" Abner answered, "I swear I don't know, sir."