David Defeats Goliath

⁴⁰Instead, he picked up his shepherd's staff, chose 5 smooth stones from the stream, and dropped them into the pouch of his shepherd's bag. Then, with his sling in hand, he walked toward the Philistine. ⁴¹Goliath moved closer to David, with his shield bearer walking ahead of him. ⁴²When the Philistine got a good look at David, he sneered at him with contempt — David was just a boy, healthy and handsome, with a ruddy complexion. ⁴³Goliath said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" Then he cursed David by the names of his gods. ⁴⁴"Come here," the Philistine taunted, "and I'll feed your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!" ⁴⁵David answered the Philistine, "You come at me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin. But I come at you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel — the one you have defied. ⁴⁶Today the LORD will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that the whole world will know there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷Everyone gathered here will know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. This battle belongs to the LORD, and he will give all of you into our hands. ⁴⁸As Goliath moved forward to close the distance, David sprinted toward the battle line to meet him. ⁴⁹David reached into his bag, pulled out a stone, loaded his sling, and hurled it. The stone struck the Philistine square in the forehead, sinking deep into his skull. Goliath crashed face-first to the ground. ⁵⁰That's how David defeated the Philistine — with nothing but a sling and a stone. He struck Goliath down and killed him without even having a sword in his hand. ⁵¹David ran over and stood on top of the Philistine. He pulled Goliath's own sword from its sheath, finished him off, and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. ⁵²The men of Israel and Judah let out a battle cry and charged after the Philistines, chasing them all the way to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine dead and wounded littered the road from Shaaraim all the way to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³After the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they looted the enemy camp. ⁵⁴David took Goliath's head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath's armor in his own tent. ⁵⁵When Saul saw David going out to face the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this young man?" Abner replied, "As surely as your soul lives, O king, I do not know." ⁵⁶The king ordered, "Find out whose son this young man is." ⁵⁷So when David came back from killing the Philistine, Abner brought him straight to Saul. David was still carrying Goliath's head. ⁵⁸Saul asked him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse, from Bethlehem."