25. All the men of Israel were saying, “Have you seen this man who keeps coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel! The man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, give him his daughter in marriage and make his father’s house tax-free in Israel!”
26. Then David asked the men who were standing by him saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the ranks of the living God?”
27. The people answered him with the same speech saying, “Thus it will be done for the man who strikes him down.”
28. Now when Eliab his oldest brother heard him speaking to the men, Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “So with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart! For you’ve come down here to watch the battle.”
29. “What have I done now?” David said. “It was only a question!”
30. Then he turned away from him toward someone else and asked the same question. So the people gave him the same answer as before.
31. The words that David said were overheard and reported before Saul. So he was taken to him.
32. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33. Then Saul said to David, “You can’t go fight this Philistine—for you’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since his youth.”
34. But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb out of the flock,
35. I went out after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb out of its mouth. If it rose up against me, I grabbed him by its fur, struck it and killed it.
36. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear, so this uncircumcised Philistine will become like one of them—since he has defied the ranks of the living God.”
37. Then David said, “Adonai, who has delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go!” said Saul to David, “and may Adonai be with you.”
38. Then Saul clothed David with his own garb, put a bronze helmet on his head, and clothed him in armor.
39. David strapped his sword on his garment and tried to walk, but he was not used to it. So David said to Saul, “I cannot walk in these, for I am not used to them.” So David took them off.
40. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the valley, put them in the pocket of the shepherd’s bag that he had, and with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
41. Meanwhile, the Philistine drew nearer and approached David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
42. Now when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was just a ruddy boy with a handsome appearance.
43. Then the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, so I may give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”