David and Goliath

¹Now the Philistines vgathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at wSocoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and xAzekah, in yEphes-dammim. ²And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in zthe Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. ³And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. ⁴And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named aGoliath of bGath, whose height was six1 cubits2 and a span. ⁵He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels3 of bronze. ⁶And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a cjavelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. ⁷The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. dAnd his shield-bearer went before him. ⁸He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and eare you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. ⁹If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants fand serve us.” ¹⁰And the Philistine said, g“I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” ¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

¹²Now David was hthe son of an iEphrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, jnamed Jesse, kwho had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.4 ¹³The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And lthe names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴mDavid was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, ¹⁵but David went back and forth from Saul nto feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. ¹⁶For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

¹⁷And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah5 of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. ¹⁸oAlso take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. pSee if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

¹⁹Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. ²⁰And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to qthe encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. ²¹And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. ²²And David left the rthings in charge of the keeper of the rbaggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. ²³As he talked with them, behold, sthe champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke tthe same words as before. And David heard him.

²⁴All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. ²⁵And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to udefy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches vand will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.” ²⁶And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away wthe reproach from Israel? For who is this xuncircumcised Philistine, that he should udefy the armies of ythe living God?” ²⁷And the people answered him in the same way, z“So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

²⁸Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” ²⁹And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” ³⁰And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke bin the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

³¹When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. ³²And David said to Saul, c“Let no man's heart fail because of him. dYour servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” ³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. ³⁶Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, efor he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷And David said, f“The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, gand the Lord be with you!”

³⁸Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, ³⁹and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. ⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, hwith his shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴²And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, iruddy and handsome in appearance. ⁴³And the Philistine said to David, “Am I ja dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh kto the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” ⁴⁵Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with la javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, ewhom you have defied. ⁴⁶This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. mAnd I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day nto the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, othat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that pthe Lord saves not with sword and spear. qFor the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”

⁴⁸When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹Then David ran and stood over the Philistine rand took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, sthey fled. ⁵²And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath6 and the gates of tEkron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from uShaaraim as far as vGath and Ekron. ⁵³And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. ⁵⁴And David took wthe head of the Philistine xand brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, ythe commander of the army, “Abner, zwhose son is this youth?” And Abner said, a“As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” ⁵⁶And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” ⁵⁷And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul bwith the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, c“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

The Example of Christ

¹sWe who are strong thave an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ²uLet each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For vChrist did not please himself, but as it is written, w“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” ⁴For xwhatever was written in former days was written for our yinstruction, that through endurance and through zthe encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ato live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶that together you may with one voice glorify bthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁸For I tell you that Christ cbecame a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order dto confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and in order ethat the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

f“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

and sing to your name.”

¹⁰And again it is said,

g“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹And again,

h“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and let all the peoples extol him.”

¹²And again Isaiah says,

ij“The root of Jesse will come,

even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;

kin him will the Gentiles hope.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all ljoy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,1 that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with nall knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, obecause of the grace given me by God ¹⁶to be pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have sreason to be proud of tmy work for God. ¹⁸For I will not venture to speak of anything except uwhat Christ has accomplished through me vto bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, ¹⁹wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, zlest I build on someone else's foundation, ²¹but as it is written,

a“Those who have never been told of him will see,

and those who have never heard will understand.”

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²²This is the reason why bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and csince I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴I hope to see you in passing as I go dto Spain, and eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵At present, however, fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶For gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷For they were pleased to do it, and indeed hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,2 I will leave ifor Spain by way of you. ²⁹I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing3 of Christ.

³⁰I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by jthe love of the Spirit, kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ³¹lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³²so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and nbe refreshed in your company. ³³May othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.

The Lord Has Destroyed Without Pity

¹How the Lord in his anger

has set the daughter of Zion junder a cloud!

kHe has cast down from heaven to earth

the splendor of Israel;

he has not remembered lhis footstool

in the day of his anger.

²The Lord mhas swallowed up nwithout mercy

all the habitations of Jacob;

in his wrath ohe has broken down

the strongholds of the daughter of Judah;

he has brought pdown to the ground pin dishonor

the kingdom qand its rulers.

³He has cut down in rfierce anger

all sthe might of Israel;

the has withdrawn from them his right hand

in the face of the enemy;

uhe has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob,

consuming all around.

⁴vHe has bent his bow like an enemy,

with his right hand set wlike a foe;

and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes

in the tent of the daughter of Zion;

he has poured out his fury like fire.

⁵wThe Lord has become like an enemy;

xhe has swallowed up Israel;

yhe has swallowed up all its palaces;

he has laid in ruins its strongholds,

and he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah

zmourning and lamentation.

⁶He has laid waste his booth like a garden,

laid in ruins ahis meeting place;

athe Lord has made Zion forget

festival and bSabbath,

and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest.

⁷cThe Lord has scorned his altar,

ddisowned his sanctuary;

ehe has delivered into the hand of the enemy

the walls of her palaces;

fthey raised a clamor in the house of the Lord

as on the day of festival.

⁸gThe Lord determined to lay in ruins

hthe wall of the daughter of Zion;

ihe stretched out the measuring line;

he did not restrain his hand from destroying;

jhe caused rampart and wall to lament;

jthey languished together.

⁹Her gates have sunk into the ground;

khe has ruined kand broken her bars;

lher king and princes are among the nations;

the law is no more,

and mher prophets find

no vision from the Lord.

¹⁰The elders of the daughter of Zion

nsit on the ground oin silence;

pthey have thrown dust on their heads

and qput on sackcloth;

the young women of Jerusalem

have bowed their heads to the ground.

¹¹rMy eyes are spent with weeping;

smy stomach churns;

tmy bile is poured out to the ground

ubecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people,

vbecause infants and babies wfaint

in the streets of the city.

¹²They cry to their mothers,

x“Where is bread and wine?”

was they faint like a wounded man

in the streets of the city,

as their life is poured out

on their mothers' bosom.

¹³What can I say for you, yto what compare you,

O daughter of Jerusalem?

yWhat can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,

O virgin daughter of Zion?

zFor your ruin is vast as the sea;

who can heal you?

¹⁴aYour prophets have seen for you

false and deceptive visions;

bthey have not exposed your iniquity

to crestore your fortunes,

dbut have seen for you eoracles

that are false and misleading.

¹⁵All who pass along the way

clap their hands at you;

fthey hiss and wag their heads

at the daughter of Jerusalem:

“Is this the city that was called

gthe perfection of beauty,

gthe joy of all the earth?”

¹⁶hAll your enemies

rail against you;

they hiss, they gnash their teeth,

they cry: “We ihave swallowed her!

Ah, this is the day we longed for;

now we have it; jwe see it!”

¹⁷The Lord has done what he purposed;

he has carried out khis word,

which he commanded llong ago;

mhe has thrown down nwithout pity;

ohe has made the enemy rejoice over you

and exalted the pmight of your foes.

¹⁸Their heart cried to the Lord.

O qwall of the daughter of Zion,

rlet tears stream down like a torrent

sday and night!

tGive yourself no rest,

uyour eyes no respite!

¹⁹“Arise, vcry out in the night,

at the beginning of the night watches!

wPour out your heart like water

before the presence of the Lord!

xLift your hands to him

for the lives of your children,

ywho faint for hunger

at the head of every street.”

²⁰Look, O Lord, and see!

zWith whom have you dealt thus?

aShould women eat the fruit of their womb,

the children of btheir tender care?

Should cpriest and prophet be killed

in the sanctuary of the Lord?

²¹In the dust of the streets

dlie the young and the old;

dmy young women and my young men

have fallen by the sword;

eyou have killed them in the day of your anger,

slaughtering fwithout pity.

²²You summoned as if to ga festival day

hmy terrors on every side,

iand on the day of the anger of the Lord

no one escaped or survived;

jthose whom I held and raised

my enemy destroyed.

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

¹hShout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!

iPraise befits the upright.

²Give thanks to the Lord with the jlyre;

make melody to him with jthe harp of kten strings!

³Sing to him la new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in mfaithfulness.

⁵He nloves righteousness and justice;

othe earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶By pthe word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by qthe breath of his mouth all rtheir host.

⁷He gathers the waters of the sea as sa heap;

he tputs the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

⁹For uhe spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The Lord vbrings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

¹¹wThe counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.

¹²xBlessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has ychosen as his heritage!

¹³The Lord zlooks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man;

¹⁴from awhere he sits enthroned he blooks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds.

¹⁶cThe king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

¹⁷dThe war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸Behold, ethe eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

fon those who hope in his steadfast love,

¹⁹that he may gdeliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in hfamine.

²⁰Our soul iwaits for the Lord;

he is our jhelp and kour shield.

²¹For our heart is lglad in him,

because we mtrust in his holy name.

²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.