8. Then he stood and shouted out to the ranks of Israel saying to them, “Why come out to line up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and aren’t you Saul’s servants? Choose for yourselves a man and let him come down to me.
9. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then will we become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then will you become our slaves and serve us.”
10. The Philistine added, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel—give me a man, so we may fight together!”
11. But when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very terrified.
12. Now David was son of a certain Ephrathite man of Beth-lehem of Judah, whose name was Jesse. He had eight sons and during the days of Saul the man was old, advanced in years among men.
13. Now the three oldest sons of Jesse had already left and gone after Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14. David was the youngest. So the three oldest followed Saul.
15. Now David would go back and forth from Saul to tending his father’s sheep by Beth-lehem.
16. For forty days that Philistine would come out every morning and evening to present himself.
17. Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now, for your brothers, an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.
18. Also take these ten slices of cheese to the captain of their thousand—and check out the welfare of your brothers and bring back some token from them.
19. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
20. So David rose up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, took the provisions and went as Jesse had commanded him. When he reached the camp, the army was going out to the battle line shouting the war cry.
21. Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines, army against army.