1The Philistine army came together ready to fight the Israelites. They met together near Socoh, a town in Judah. They put up their tents at Ephes Dammim between the towns called Socoh and Azekah. 2Saul and the Israelites put up their tents in the valley of Elah. They prepared to fight against the Philistines. 3The Philistines were standing on the side of one hill. The Israelites were on another hill. The valley was between the two groups. 4The Philistines had a soldier who had won all his fights. His name was Goliath and he came from the town called Gath. He was nearly 3 metres tall! 5He wore a bronze hat to keep his head safe. He also wore a coat made of bronze to keep his body safe. The coat weighed about 57 kilos. 6He had pieces of bronze round the front of each leg to keep them safe. He also had a large bronze sword that he tied on his back. 7He also carried a big spear. It was thick and heavy, like a big tree. The iron point on his spear weighed about 7 kilos. A man who carried Goliath’s shield walked in front of him. 8Goliath stood up and he shouted to the Israelite soldiers. He said, ‘Why have you all got ready to fight against us? I am the great Philistine soldier and you serve Saul in his army. Is that not true? So, you must choose someone from among you. Then he can come and fight against me. 9If he can kill me, we Philistines will become your slaves. But if I fight him and I kill him, then you Israelites will become our slaves.’ 10Then Goliath said, ‘I am not afraid to stand against the army of Israel. Send one of your men and we will fight against each other.’ 11King Saul and all the Israelite soldiers heard what Goliath said. It upset them and it made them very afraid. 12At this time, David’s father Jesse was an old man. Jesse was from the clan of Ephrathah. He came from a town in Judah that was called Bethlehem. Jesse had 8 sons. 13Jesse’s three oldest sons had gone with King Saul to fight the war. Eliab was Jesse’s oldest son. Abinadab was his second son. Shammah was his third son. 14David was Jesse’s youngest son. While Jesse’s three oldest sons were with Saul, 15David was sometimes there with the soldiers. But sometimes he had to return home to Bethlehem. He had to take care of his father’s sheep. https://temtube.com/
1 Samuel 17 David and Goliath
