sent
this message to Jesse: "Let David remain in my service, for I am well
pleased with him." And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul,
David would take the lyre and play, and Saul would breathe more easily
and would be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war, and camped between
Socoh and Ezekah in Ephesdammim. Saul and the men of Israel came
together and camped in the valley of Elah; and they were drawn up ready
for battle against the Philistines.

The Philistines were standing on the hill on one side, and the
Israelites were standing on the hill on the other side with the valley
between them. Then there came out from the ranks of the Philistines a
champion named Goliath, who was about ten feet tall. He had a helmet of
bronze on his head and wore a bronze breastplate of scales which weighed
one hundred and fifty pounds. He also had bronze greaves upon his legs
and a bronze back-plate between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear
was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his iron spear weighed about
twenty pounds; and his shield-bearer went before him.

He stood and called to the ranks of Israel: "Why have you come out to
form the line of battle? Am I not a Philistine and you servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able
to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if
I conquer and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve
us." The Philistine added, "I defy the ranks of Israel to-day; give me a
man that we may fight together."

When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine,
they were terrified. But David said to Saul, "Let not my lord's courage
fail him; I will go and fight this Philistine." Saul said to David, "You
are not able to go and fight against this Philistine, for you are only a
youth and he has been a warrior from his youth." But David said to Saul,
"Your servant kept his father's sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear
came and took a lamb out of the flock, I would go out after him and kill
him and rescue it from his mouth. If he attacked me, I would seize him
by his throat and kill him with a blow. Your servant has killed both
lion and bear. Now this heathen Philistine shall be like one of them,
for he has defied the armies of the living God. Jehovah who saved me
from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will save me from
t