Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. [1]
39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he tried to go; for he had not proved it . And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them . And David put them off from him.
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a bag; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. [2] [3]
41 And the Philistine advanced and drew near to David; and the man that bore the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staffs? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. [4]
47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took from there a stone, and slung it with his sling, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, to the entrance of the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is .
57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
CHAP. 18.
1 And it came to pass, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.
3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his belt.
5 And David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. [5]
6 And it came to pass as they came, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. [6] [7]
7 And the women spoke to one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
8 And Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? [8]
