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The Blue Letter Bible

1 Samuel 17 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Goliath Challenges the Israelites

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:1 - The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:2 - Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:3 - So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:4 - Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet[fn] tall!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:5 - He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:6 - He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:7 - The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds.[fn] His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:8 - Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:9 - If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:10 - I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:11 - When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.
Jesse Sends David to Saul’s Camp

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:12 - Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:13 - Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea[fn]—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:14 - David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:15 - but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:16 - For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:17 - One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket[fn] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:18 - And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.[fn]”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:19 - David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:20 - So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:21 - Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:22 - David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:23 - As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:24

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:24 - As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:25

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:25 - “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:26 - David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:27

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:27 - And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:28

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:28 - But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:29

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:29 - “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:30

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:30 - He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:31

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:31 - Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
David Kills Goliath

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:32

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:32 - “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:33

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:33 - “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:34

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:34 - But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:35

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:35 - I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:36

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:36 - I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:37

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:37 - The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the LORD be with you!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:38

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:38 - Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:39

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:39 - David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:40

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:40 - He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:41

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:41 - Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:42

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:42 - sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:43

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:43 - “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:44

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:44 - “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:45

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:45 - David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:46

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:46 - Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:47

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:47 - And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:48

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:48 - As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:49

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:49 - Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
Israel Routs the Philistines

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:50

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:50 - So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:51

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:51 - Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:52

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:52 - Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath[fn] and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:53

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:53 - Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:54

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:54 - (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:55

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:55 - As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:56

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:56 - “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:57

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:57 - As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 17:58

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 17:58 - “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew 6 cubits and 1 span [which totals about 9.75 feet or 3 meters]; Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read 4 cubits and 1 span [which totals about 6.75 feet or 2 meters].
Hebrew 5,000 shekels [57 kilograms].
Hebrew 600 shekels [6.8 kilograms].
Hebrew Shammah, a variant spelling of Shimea; compare 1 Chr 2:13; 20:7.
Hebrew ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters].
Hebrew and take their pledge.
As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew reads a valley.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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1 Samuel Chapter 17 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras