1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51 ©
He took his staff in his hand, picked five smooth
stones from the river bed, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch,
and with his sling in his hand he went to meet the Philistine. The
Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came nearer and nearer to
David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw filled him
with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion
and pleasant bearing. The Philistine said to him, ‘Am I a dog for you to
come against me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his
gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your
flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.’ But David
answered the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and
javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the
God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the
Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off
your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies
of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of
the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear
that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and
he will deliver you into our power.’
David
said to Saul, ‘Let no-one lose heart on his account; your servant will
go and fight the Philistine.’ But Saul answered David, ‘You cannot go
and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior
from his youth.’
‘The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and
bear’ David said ‘will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.’
Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’
He took his staff in his hand, picked five smooth
stones from the river bed, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch,
and with his sling in his hand he went to meet the Philistine. The
Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came nearer and nearer to
David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw filled him
with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion
and pleasant bearing. The Philistine said to him, ‘Am I a dog for you to
come against me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his
gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your
flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.’ But David
answered the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and
javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the
God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the
Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off
your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies
of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of
the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear
that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and
he will deliver you into our power.’
No sooner had the Philistine started forward to
confront David than David left the line of battle and ran to meet the
Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone and slung
it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his
forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David triumphed
over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine
down and killed him. David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran and,
standing over the Philistine, seized his sword and drew it from the
scabbard, and with this he killed him, cutting off his head. The
Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and took to flight.
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