David and Goliath
1The Philistines gathered their army together for war. They came to Sokoh in Judah. They set up camp at Ephes Dammim. It was between Sokoh and Azekah. 2Saul and the army of Israel gathered together. They camped in the Valley of Elah. They lined up their men to fight against the Philistines. 3The Philistine army was camped on one hill. Israel’s army was on another. The valley was between them.
4A mighty hero named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was from Gath. He was more than nine feet tall. 5He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore bronze armor that weighed 125 pounds. 6On his legs he wore bronze guards. He carried a bronze javelin on his back. 7His spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. Its iron point weighed 15 pounds. The man who carried his shield walked along in front of him.
8Goliath stood there and shouted to the soldiers of Israel. He said, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? I’m a Philistine. You are servants of Saul. Choose one of your men. Have him come down and face me. 9If he’s able to fight and kill me, we’ll become your slaves. But if I win and kill him, you will become our slaves and serve us.” 10Goliath continued, “This day I dare the soldiers of Israel to send a man down to fight against me.” 11Saul and the whole army of Israel heard what the Philistine said. They were terrified.
12David was the son of an Ephrathite whose name was Jesse. Jesse was from Bethlehem in Judah and had eight sons. When Saul was king, Jesse was already very old. 13Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul into battle. The oldest son was Eliab. The second was Abinadab. The third was Shammah. 14David was the youngest. The three oldest sons followed Saul. 15But David went back and forth from Saul’s camp to Bethlehem. He went to Bethlehem to take care of his father’s sheep.
16Every morning and evening Goliath came forward and stood there. He did it for 40 days.
17Jesse said to his son David, “Get at least half a bushel of grain that has been cooked. Also get ten loaves of bread. Take all of it to your brothers. Hurry to their camp. 18Take along these ten chunks of cheese to the commander of their military group. Find out how your brothers are doing. Bring me back some word about them. 19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel. They are in the Valley of Elah. They are fighting against the Philistines.”
20Early in the morning David left his father’s flock in the care of a shepherd. David loaded up the food and started out, just as Jesse had directed. David reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions. The soldiers were shouting the war cry. 21The Israelites and the Philistines were lining up their armies for battle. The armies were facing each other. 22David left what he had brought with the man who took care of the supplies. He ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23As David was talking with them, Goliath stepped forward from his line. Goliath was a mighty Philistine hero from Gath. He again dared someone to fight him, and David heard it. 24Whenever Israel’s army saw Goliath, all of them ran away from him. That’s because they were so afraid.
25The Israelites had been saying, “Just look at how this man keeps daring Israel to fight him! The king will make the man who kills Goliath very wealthy. The king will also give his own daughter to be that man’s wife. The king won’t require anyone in the man’s family to pay any taxes in Israel.”
26David spoke to the men standing near him. He asked them, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine? Goliath is bringing shame on Israel. What will be done for the one who removes it? This Philistine isn’t even circumcised. He dares the armies of the living God to fight him. Who does he think he is?”
27The men told David what Israel’s soldiers had been saying. The men told him what would be done for the man who killed Goliath.
28David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking with the men. So Eliab became very angry with him. Eliab asked David, “Why have you come down here? Who is taking care of those few sheep in the desert for you? I know how proud you are. I know how evil your heart is. The only reason you came down here was to watch the battle.”
29“What have I done now?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30Then he turned away to speak to some other men. He asked them the same question he had asked before. And they gave him the same answer. 31Someone heard what David said and reported it to Saul. So Saul sent for David.
32David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone lose hope because of that Philistine. I’ll go out and fight him.”
33Saul replied, “You aren’t able to go out there and fight that Philistine. You are too young. He’s been a warrior ever since he was a boy.”
34But David said to Saul, “I’ve been taking care of my father’s sheep. Sometimes a lion or a bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock. 35Then I would go after it and hit it. I would save the sheep it was carrying in its mouth. If it turned around to attack me, I would grab its hair. I would strike it down and kill it. 36In fact, I’ve killed both a lion and a bear. I’ll do the same thing to this Philistine. He isn’t even circumcised. He has dared the armies of the living God to fight him. 37The Lord saved me from the paw of the lion. He saved me from the paw of the bear. And he’ll save me from the powerful hand of this Philistine too.”
Saul said to David, “Go. And may the Lord be with you.”
38Then Saul dressed David in his own military clothes. He put a coat of armor on him. He put a bronze helmet on his head. 39David put on Saul’s sword over his clothes. He walked around for a while in all that armor because he wasn’t used to it.
“I can’t go out there in all this armor,” he said to Saul. “I’m not used to it.” So he took it off. 40Then David picked up his wooden staff. He went down to a stream and chose five smooth stones. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. Then he took his sling in his hand and approached Goliath.
41At that same time, the Philistine kept coming closer to David. The man carrying Goliath’s shield walked along in front of him. 42Goliath looked David over. He saw how young he was. He also saw how healthy and handsome he was. And he hated him. 43He said to David, “Why are you coming at me with sticks? Do you think I’m only a dog?” The Philistine cursed David in the name of his gods. 44“Come over here,” he said. “I’ll feed your body to the birds and wild animals!”
45David said to Goliath, “You are coming to fight against me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I’m coming against you in the name of the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of the armies of Israel. He’s the one you have dared to fight against. 46This day the Lord will give me the victory over you. I’ll strike you down. I’ll cut your head off. This day I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know there is a God in Israel. 47The Lord doesn’t rescue people by using a sword or a spear. And everyone here will know it. The battle belongs to the Lord. He will hand all of you over to us.”
48As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet him. 49He reached into his bag. He took out a stone. He put it in his sling. He slung it at Goliath. The stone hit him on the forehead and sank into it. He fell to the ground on his face.
50So David won the fight against Goliath with a sling and a stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. He did it without even using a sword.
51David ran and stood over him. He picked up Goliath’s sword and cut off his head with it.
The Philistines saw that their hero was dead. So they turned around and ran away. 52Then the men of Israel and Judah shouted and rushed forward. They chased the Philistines to the entrance of Gath. They chased them to the gates of Ekron. Bodies of dead Philistines were scattered all along the road to Gath and Ekron. That’s the road that leads to Shaaraim. 53Israel’s army returned from chasing the Philistines. They had taken everything from the Philistine camp.
54David picked up Goliath’s head. He brought it to Jerusalem. He put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55Saul had been watching David as he went out to meet the Philistine. He spoke to Abner, the commander of the army. Saul said to him, “Abner, whose son is that young man?”
Abner replied, “Your Majesty, I don’t know. And that’s just as sure as you are alive.”
56The king said, “Find out whose son that young man is.”
57After David killed Goliath, he returned to the camp. Then Abner brought him to Saul. David was still carrying Goliath’s head.
58“Young man, whose son are you?” Saul asked him.
David said, “I’m the son of Jesse from Bethlehem.”
Goliat udfordrer Israel
1Filistrene samlede igen deres hær for at gå i krig. De samledes i Soko i Juda og slog lejr i Efes-Dammim mellem Soko og Azeka. 2Saul og israelitterne samledes og slog lejr ved Elahdalen, og de gjorde sig klar til kamp. 3Filistrene og israelitterne stod således ansigt til ansigt på hver sin bjergskråning med kun dalen imellem sig.
4Filistrene havde en kriger, Goliat fra Gat, som var næsten tre meter høj. 5Hans rustning bestod af en hjelm af bronze, et brystpanser af bronze, der vejede over 50 kilo,17,5 På hebraisk: „5000 shekel”. En shekel menes at veje ca. 11 gram på dette tidspunkt. 6og benskinner af bronze. På ryggen bar han et kastespyd af bronze. 7Skaftet på hans kampspyd var flere tommer tykt og med en spydspids af jern, der vejede næsten syv kilo. Foran ham gik hans våbendrager med et stort skjold.
8Goliat trådte frem foran de øvrige filistre og råbte over til israelitterne: „Hvorfor har I stillet hele hæren op til kamp? Vi kan da bare ordne sagen ved en lille tvekamp! Jeg er filistrenes største krigshelt. I er selvfølgelig kun Sauls slaver, men vælg bare en af jeres mænd til at komme herned og kæmpe med mig. 9Hvis han vinder over mig og slår mig ihjel, bliver vi jeres slaver. Men hvis jeg vinder over ham og slår ham ihjel, bliver I vores slaver. 10Jeg udfordrer Israels hær til at sende en mand her hen til mig, hvis I altså tør.” 11Da Saul og israelitterne hørte, hvad Goliat sagde, blev de skrækslagne og tabte fuldstændig modet. 12-16Det samme gentog sig i 40 dage. Hver eneste morgen og aften trådte kæmpen frem og udfordrede israelitterne.
Nu havde David jo syv ældre brødre, der alle var sønner af Isaj, som boede i Betlehem i Judas stammeområde. De tre ældste—Eliab, Abinadab og Shamma—var med i Sauls hær. David, der var yngst, tjente hos Saul, men var netop nu i Betlehem, hvor han hjalp sin gamle far med at vogte fårene og gederne.
17En dag sagde Isaj til David: „Tag den her sæk ristede korn og de her ti brød med til dine brødre i Sauls hær, 18og giv de her ti stykker ost til deres anfører. Find ud af, hvordan dine brødre har det, og sørg for at bringe et brev eller noget andet med tilbage fra dem. 19De er sammen med Saul og hele hæren i Elahdalen.”
20David overlod så fårene til en anden hyrde, og tidligt næste morgen tog han af sted. Han ankom til udkanten af lejren, netop som hæren var ved at stille op til kamp og udstødte kampråbet. 21Israelitterne og filistrene stillede op over for hinanden på hver sin side af dalen. 22David efterlod sin bagage hos manden, der havde opsyn med forsyningerne, og skyndte sig ud for at finde sine brødre. 23Mens han talte med dem, trådte Goliat frem og stillede sig op foran filisterhæren, og David hørte, hvordan han råbte sin udfordring til israelitterne. 24Så snart Israels krigere så ham, flygtede de skrækslagne.
25„Sikken en kæmpe,” sagde krigerne til hinanden, „han kommer hver dag for at håne Israels hær. Kongen har udlovet en belønning til den, der slår kæmpen ihjel. Han bliver rig, han får kongens datter til kone, og hele hans slægt bliver fritaget for at betale skat.”
26David henvendte sig nu til nogle af de omkringstående og spurgte: „Hvad får den mand, der slår filisteren ihjel og gør en ende på hans forhånelser? Hvem er egentlig denne ugudelige, uomskårne filister, der tror, han kan tillade sig at håne den levende Guds hær?” 27Han fik det samme svar igen om den udlovede dusør.
28Men da Davids ældste bror, Eliab, hørte, hvad David talte med mændene om, blev han vred. „Hvad bestiller du egentlig her?” skældte han. „Har du efterladt de stakkels får i ørkenen? Jeg kender dig. Du er både hovmodig og selvisk. Du er bare kommet for at se på kampen.”
29„Hvad har jeg nu gjort?” forsvarede David sig. „Der er vel ikke noget forkert i at spørge?”
30Så gik han hen til nogle andre mænd og stillede samme spørgsmål. De gav ham det samme svar.
David kæmper mod Goliat
31Det rygtedes hurtigt i lejren, hvad David havde sagt. Da kong Saul fik det at vide, sendte han bud efter ham.
32„Du må ikke lade dig slå ud af den overmodige filister,” sagde David til Saul. „Jeg skal nok gøre det af med ham.”
33„Det kan du ikke,” sukkede Saul. „Du er ung og uerfaren, mens den mand har været kriger fra sin ungdom af.”
34Men David svarede: „Jeg har i årevis vogtet min fars får. Hvis der kom en løve eller en bjørn og tog et lam fra hjorden, 35løb jeg efter dyret, fældede det med min slynge og rev lammet ud af gabet på det. Hvis dyret så angreb mig, greb jeg fat i dets pels og slog det ihjel. 36Jeg har slået både løver og bjørne ihjel, og nu skal det gå den her uomskårne filister på samme måde, for han har udfordret den levende Guds hær. 37Den Gud, som frelste mig fra løvers og bjørnes kløer, vil også hjælpe mig imod den filister.”
„Godt,” svarede Saul, „så gå imod ham. Og må Herren være med dig.”
38Saul gav nu David sin egen rustning med både bronzehjelm og brynje. 39David spændte bæltet med sværdet om livet, men han kunne ikke bevæge sig med alt det på. Han havde jo aldrig prøvet det før. „Jeg kan dårligt bevæge mig i den mundering,” sagde han og tog det hele af igen. 40I stedet udvalgte han sig fem glatte sten ved bækken og lagde dem i sin hyrdetaske, og med sin hyrdestav og sin slynge gik han Goliat i møde. 41-42Goliat kom gående hen imod David med skjoldbæreren foran sig. Da han fik øje på ham, snerrede han i foragt over den lille rødmossede fyr, der vovede sig frem imod ham.
43„Hvad regner du mig for? En hund?” brølede han til David. „Du kommer jo imod mig med en kæp!” Så forbandede han David ved alle sine guder 44og tilføjede: „Kom herhen, så skal jeg gøre dig til føde for fuglene og de vilde dyr!”
45Men David råbte tilbage: „Du kommer imod mig med sværd, spyd og lanse, men jeg kommer imod dig i Herrens navn! Du har hånet ham, skønt han er Anføreren for de himmelske hære og for Israels styrker! 46Derfor vil Herren gøre det af med dig i dag. Jeg vil slå dig ihjel og hugge hovedet af dig, så det er dig og dine folk, der bliver til føde for fuglene og de vilde dyr. På den måde får hele verden at se, at der er en Gud i Israel! 47Og Israel skal lære, at Herren ikke giver sejr ved sværd og spyd, når han vil gennemføre sine planer. I dag vil han udlevere jer til os.”
48Da Goliat nærmede sig, løb David ham i møde. 49Han stak hånden i sin hyrdetaske, fiskede en sten op, slyngede den rundt og lod den flyve mod filisterens hoved. Stenen borede sig ind i Goliats pande, og han faldt næsegrus til jorden. 50Sådan fældede David filisterkæmpen med en sten fra sin slynge. Da han ikke havde noget sværd, 51løb han hen og trak Goliats sværd af skeden og huggede hovedet af kæmpen. Ved det syn gik der panik i filisterhæren. De vendte om og tog flugten, da det gik op for dem, at deres helt var død.
52Da udstødte Israels og Judas mænd et krigshyl og stormede efter filistrene, og de forfulgte dem helt til Gat og Ekrons byporte. Døde og sårede filistre lå spredt fra Sha’arajim til Gat og Ekron. 53Derefter vendte israelitterne tilbage og plyndrede filistrenes rømmede lejr. 54Men David sikrede sig Goliats hoved og tog det senere med til Jerusalem, mens filisterens våben blev anbragt i hans telt.17,54 Teksten er uklar. Muligvis henviser „hans telt” til Herrens telt, som åbenbart var blevet flyttet fra Shilo til Nob, lige øst for Jerusalem, jf. 1.Sam. 21,9. Arken befandt sig på dette tidspunkt stadig i Kirjat-Jearim. Byen Jerusalem var endnu ikke indtaget af israelitterne.
55Dengang Saul så David gå imod kæmpen Goliat, spurgte han sin hærfører Abner: „Abner, hvilken familie er det nu den der unge fyr kommer fra?” „Jeg aner det ikke,” svarede Abner. 56„Så find ud af det!” sagde kongen. 57Efter at David havde dræbt Goliat, og han kom tilbage med kæmpens hoved i hånden, førte Abner ham straks til Saul. 58„Sig mig, unge mand,” sagde Saul, „hvem er din far?” David svarede: „Jeg er søn af Isaj, der bor i Betlehem.”
