¹ Nowe the Philistims gathered their armies to battell, and came together to Shochoh, which is in Iudah, and pitched betweene Shochoh and Azekah, in the coast of Dammim.

² And Saul, and the men of Israel assembled, and pitched in the valley of Elah, and put themselues in battell araie to meete the Philistims.

³ And the Philistims stoode on a mountaine on the one side, and Israel stoode on a mountaine on the other side: so a valley was betweene them.

⁴ Then came a man betweene them both out of the tents of the Philistims, named Goliath of Gath: his height was sixe cubites and an hande breadth,

⁵ Aud had an helmet of brasse vpon his head, and a brigandine vpon him: and the weight of his brigandine was fiue thousand shekels of brasse.

⁶ And he had bootes of brasse vpon his legs, and a shield of brasse vpon his shoulders.

⁷ And the shaft of his speare was like a weauers beame: and his speare head weyed sixe hundreth shekels of yron: and one bearing a shielde went before him.

⁸ And he stoode, and cried against the hoste of Israel, and saide vnto them, Why are yee come to set your battell in aray? am not I a Philistim, and you seruaunts to Saul? chuse you a man for you, and let him come downe to me.

⁹ If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then wil we be your seruants: but if I ouercome him, and kill him, then shall yee be our seruants, and serue vs.

¹⁰ Also the Philistim saide, I defie the hoste of Israel this day: giue mee a man, that we may fight together.

¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard those wordes of the Philistim, they were discouraged, and greatly afraide.

¹² Nowe this Dauid was the sonne of an Ephrathite of Beth-lehem Iudah, named Ishai, which had eight sonnes: and this man was taken for an olde man in the daies of Saul.

¹³ And the three eldest sonnes of Ishai went and followed Saul to the battel: and the names of his three sonnes that went to battell, were Eliab the Eldest, and the next Abinadab, and the thirde Shammah.

¹⁴ So Dauid was the least: and the three eldest went after Saul.

¹⁵ Dauid also went, but hee returned from Saul to feede his fathers sheepe in Beth-lehem.

¹⁶ And the Philistim drew neere in the morning, and euening, and continued fourtie daies.

¹⁷ And Ishai said vnto Dauid his sone, Take nowe for thy brethren an Ephah of this parched corne, and these ten cakes, and runne to the hoste to thy brethren.

¹⁸ Also carie these ten fresh cheeses vnto the captaine, and looke howe thy brethren fare, and receiue their pledge.

¹⁹ (Then Saul and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistims)

²⁰ So Dauid rose vp earely in the morning, and left the sheepe with a keeper, and tooke and went as Ishai had commanded him, and came within the compasse of the hoste: and the hoste went out in araie, and shouted in the battell.

²¹ For Israel and the Philistims had put themselues in araie, armie against armie.

²² And Dauid left the things, which hee bare, vnder the handes of the keeper of the cariage, and ranne into the hoste, and came, and asked his brethren howe they did.

²³ And as hee talked with them, beholde, the man that was betweene the two armies, came vp, (whose name was Goliath ye Philistim of Gath) out of the armie of the Philistims, and spake such woordes, and Dauid heard them.

²⁴ And all the men of Israel, when they sawe the man, ranne away from him, and were sore afraied.

²⁵ For euery man of Israel saide, Sawe yee not this man that commeth vp? euen to reuile Israel is he come vp: and to him that killeth him, wil the king giue great riches, and will giue him his daughter, yea, and make his fathers house free in Israel.

²⁶ Then Dauid spake to the men that stoode with him, and sayde, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistim, and taketh away the shame from Israel? for who is this vncircumcised Philistim, that he shoulde reuile the hoste of the liuing God?

²⁷ And the people answered him after this maner, saying, Thus shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

²⁸ And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake vnto the men, and Eliab was verie angrie with Dauid, and sayde, Why camest thou downe hither? and with whome hast thou left those fewe sheepe in the wildernesse? I knowe thy pride and the malice of thine heart, that thou art come downe to see the battell.

²⁹ Then Dauid sayde, What haue I nowe done? Is there not a cause?

³⁰ And hee departed from him into the presence of another, and spake of the same maner, and the people answered him according to the former woordes.

³¹ And they that heard the wordes which Dauid spake, rehearsed them before Saul, which caused him to be brought.

³² So Dauid saide to Saul, Let no mans heart faile him, because of him: thy seruant wil goe, and fight with this Philistim.

³³ And Saul sayde to Dauid, Thou art not able to goe against this Philistim to fight with him: for thou art a boye, and he is a man of warre from his youth.

³⁴ And Dauid answered vnto Saul, Thy seruant kept his fathers sheepe, and there came a lyon, and likewise a beare, and tooke a sheepe out of the flocke,

³⁵ And I went out after him and smote him, and tooke it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by the beard, and smote him, and slue him.

³⁶ So thy seruaunt slue both the lyon, and the beare: therefore this vncircumcised Philistim shall be as one of them, seeing hee hath railed on the hoste of the liuing God.

³⁷ Moreouer Dauid sayd, The Lord that deliuered me out of the pawe of the lyon, and out of the paw of the beare, he wil deliuer me out of the hand of this Philistim. Then Saul sayd vnto Dauid, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

³⁸ And Saul put his rayment vpon Dauid, and put an helmet of brasse vpon his head, and put a brigandine vpon him.

³⁹ Then girded Dauid his sword vpon his rayment, and began to go: for he neuer proued it: and Dauid sayde vnto Saul, I can not goe with these: for I am not accustomed. wherefore Dauid put them off him.

⁴⁰ Then tooke he his staffe in his hand, and chose him fiue smoothe stones out of a brooke, and put them in his shepheards bagge or skrippe, and his sling was in his hand, and he drewe neere to the Philistim.