¹ Forsothe Filisteis gaderiden her cumpenyes in to batel, and camen togidere in Socoth of Juda, and settiden tentis bitwixe Socoth and Azecha, in the coostis of Domyn.

² Sotheli Saul and the men of Israel weren gaderid, and camen in to the valey of Terebynte, and dressiden scheltrun to fiyte ayens Filisteis.

³ And Filisteis stoden aboue the hil on this part, and Israel stood on the hil on the tother part of the valey, that was bitwixe hem. And a man, `sone of a widewe, whos fadir was vncerteyn, yede out of the `castels of Filisteis, Goliath bi name of Geth, of sixe cubitis heiy and a spanne; and a brasun basynet on his heed;

⁵ and he was clothid with `an haburioun hokid, ether mailid; forsothe the weiyte of his haburioun was fyue thousynde siclis of bras;

⁶ and he hadde `bootis of bras in the hipis, and a `scheld of bras hilide hise schuldris.

⁷ Forsothe `the schaft of his spere was as the beem of webbis; forsothe thilke yrun of his spere hadde sixe hundrid siclis of yrun; and his squier yede bifor hym.

⁸ And he stood, and cried ayens the cumpenyes of armed men of Israel, and seide to hem, Why camen ye redi to batel? Whether Y am not a Filistei, and ye ben the seruauntis of Saul? Chese ye a man of you, and come he doun to syngulere batel;

⁹ if he may fiyte with me, and sleeth me, we schulen be `seruauntis to you; forsothe if Y haue the maystry, and sle hym, ye schulen be boonde, and `ye schulen serue vs.

¹⁰ And `the Filistei seide, Y haue `seyd schenschip to dai to the cumpenyes of Israel; yyue ye a man, and bigynne he `synguler batel with me.

¹¹ Sotheli Saul and alle men of Israel herden siche wordis of `the Filistey, and thei weren astonyed, and dredden greetli.

¹² Forsothe Dauid was `the sone of a man of Effrata, of whom it is `biforseid, of Bethleem of Juda, to `which man the name was Isay, which hadde eiyte sones; and `the man was eld in the daies of Saul, and of greet age among men.

¹³ Sotheli thre grettere sones of Ysai yeden after Saul in to batel; and the names of hise thre sones, that yeden to batel, Heliab, the firste gendryd, and the secounde, Amynadab, and the thridde, Samma.

¹⁴ Forsothe Dauid was the leeste. Therfor while thre grettere sueden Saul, Dauid yede,

¹⁵ and turnede ayen fro Saul, that he schulde kepe the floc of his fadir in Bethleem.

¹⁶ Forsothe the Filistey cam forth in the morewtid, and euentid; and stood `bi fourti daies.

¹⁷ Sotheli Ysai seide to Dauid his sone, Take thou to thi britheren meete maad of meele, the mesure of ephi, and these ten looues, and renne thou in to the castels to thi britheren;

¹⁸ and thou schalt bere to the tribune these ten `litil formes of chese; and thou schalt visite thi britheren, whether thei doon riytli, and lurne thou, with whiche men thei ben ordeyned.

¹⁹ Forsothe Saul, and thei, and alle the sones of Israel in the valei of Terebynte fouyten ayens Filisteis.

²⁰ Therfor Dauid roos eerli, and bitook the floc to the kepere, and he yede chargid, as Ysai `hadde comaundid to hym; and he cam to the place Magala, and to the oost, which oost yede out to the batel, and criede in `the batel.

²¹ For Israel hadde dressid scheltrun; `but also Filisteis weren maad redi `euen ayens.

²² Therfor Dauid lefte the vessels, whiche he hadde brouyt, vndur the hond of a kepere `at the fardels, and he ran to the place of batel, and he axyde, if alle thingis weren `doon riytli anentis hise britheren.

²³ And whanne he spak yit to hem, thilke bastard apperide, Goliath bi name, a Filistei of Geth, and stiede fro the castels of Filisteis; and `while he spak these same wordis, Dauid herde.

²⁴ And whanne alle men of Israel hadden seyn `the man, thei fledden fro his face, and dredden hym greetli.

²⁵ And ech man of Israel seide, Whether thou hast seyn this man that stiede? for he stiede to seie schenship to Israel; therfor the kyng schal make riche with greet richessis `the man that sleeth thilke Filistei; and the kyng schal yyue his douyter to that man, and schal make the hows of his fader with out `tribut in Israel.

²⁶ And Dauyd spak to the men that stoden with hym, and seide, What schal be youun to the man that sleeth this Filistei, and doith awei schenschip fro Israel? for who is this Filistei vncircumcidid, that dispiside the scheltruns of God lyuynge?

²⁷ Forsothe the puple tolde to hym the same word, and seide, These thingis schulen be youun to the man that sleeth hym.

²⁸ And whanne Heliab, `his more brother, had herd this, while he spak with othere men, he was wrooth ayens Dauid, and seide, Whi camest thou, and whi `leftist thou tho fewe scheep in deseert? Y knowe thi pride, and the wewardnesse of thin herte; for thou camest doun to se the batel.

²⁹ And Dauid seide, What haue Y do? Whether it is not a word?

³⁰ And Dauid bowide a litil fro hym to another man; and Dauid seide the same word, and the puple answeride to hym al word as bifore.

³¹ Forsothe these wordis weren herd, whiche Dauid spak, and weren teld `in the siyt of Saul.

³² And whanne Dauyd was brouyt to Saul, Dauyd spak to hym, The herte of ony man falle not doun for `that Filistei, Y thi seruaunt schal go, and `Y schal fiyte ayens the Filistei.

³³ And Saul seide to Dauid, Thou maist not ayenstonde this Filistei, nether fiyte ayens hym, for thou art a child; forsothe this man is a werriour fro his yong wexynge age.

³⁴ And Dauid seide to Saul, Thi seruaunt kepte `the floc of his fadir, and a lioun cam, ether a bere, and took awei a ram fro the myddis of the floc;

³⁵ Y pursuede, and killide hem, and rauyschide fro `the mouth of hem; and thei risiden ayens me, and I took the nether chaule `of hem, and Y stranglide, and killide hem.

³⁶ For Y thi seruaunt killide bothe a lioun and a bere; therfor and this Filistei vncircumcidid schal be as oon of hem. Now Y schal go, and Y schal do awey the schenschip of the puple; for who is this Filistei vncircumcidid, that was hardi to curse the oost of God lyuynge?

³⁷ And Dauid seide, The Lord that delyuerede me fro the `mouth of the lioun, and fro the `hond, that is, power, of the bere, he schal delyuere me fro the hond of this Filistei. Forsothe Saul seide to Dauid, Go thou, and the Lord be with thee.

³⁸ And Saul clothide Dauid with hise clothis, and puttide a brasun basynet on his heed, and clothide hym with an haburioun.

³⁹ Therfor Dauid was gird with his swerd on his cloth, and bigan to asaie if he myyte go armed; for he hadde not custom. And Dauid seide to Saul, Y may not go so, for Y haue not vss. And Dauid puttide awei tho,

⁴⁰ and he took his staaf, which he hadde euere in the hondis. And he chees to hym fyue clereste stonys, that is, harde, pleyn, and rounde, of the stronde; and he sente tho in to the schepherdis scrippe, which he hadde with hym; and he took the slynge in the hond, and yede forth ayens the Filistei.

⁴¹ Sotheli the Filistei yede, `goynge and neiyyng ayens Dauid; and his squyer yede bifor hym.