THE ARMY OF THE PHILISTINES AND THE ARMY OF ISRAEL MAKE READY FOR BATTLE. GOLIATH DEFIES THE MEN OF ISRAEL. HE IS SLAIN BY DAVID. SAUL TAKES DAVID TO HIS OWN HOUSE. HE GROWS JEALOUS OF HIM AND TRIES TO KILL HIM. DAVID FLEES. JONATHAN SHOOTS ARROWS IN THE FIELD TO LET HIM KNOW OF HIS DANGER.
AND the Philistines gathered their armies together to fight against Israel. And Saul and the men of Israel made ready for the battle. The camp of the Philistines was on a mountain on one side, and the camp of Israel was on a mountain on the other side, and there was a valley between them.
And there came out of the camp of the Philistines a giant, named Goliath of Gath. On his head was a helmet made of brass, and he wore a coat of armor; pieces of brass also covered his legs, so that no sword or spear might wound him. He came into the valley between the two armies, where the men of Israel could see him, and he stood and cried to them, Choose you a man out of your army, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and to kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I kill him, then shall you be our servants. And the Philistine said, I defy, that is, I dare, the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. When Saul and the men of Israel heard these words, they were greatly afraid; for no man in Saul's army was willing to go out and fight with the giant. And every morning and evening for forty days, he came out and defied all the men of Israel.
Now David was feeding his father's sheep at Bethlehem, but his three elder brothers had gone out with Saul to fight against the Philistines. And Jesse said to David, his son, Take now this parched corn and these ten loaves of bread, and run to the camp, to thy brethren; and carry these ten cheeses as a present to their captain, and see how they do. And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a servant, and went as his father commanded. And he came to the camp just as the host was going out to fight, and all the men shouted for the battle. For the Philistines and the children of Israel had made ready, and they stood, one army before the other. And David left the things he had brought, with a man who was to take care of them, and he ran into the army to speak with his brethren.
And while he talked with them, Goliath came out between the two armies, and spoke the same words that he had spoken before, and David heard him. And the men of Israel fled from him in fear. And David heard them say, that if any man would kill the Philistine, the king would give him great riches, and he should have the king's daughter to be his wife. Then David asked them to tell him again, what would be done for the man who should kill the Philistine.
And Eliab, David's eldest brother, heard him asking, and was angry with him, and said, Why earnest thou down here? and whom hast thou left at home, to take care of the sheep? I know the naughtiness of thine heart, for thou art come down to see the battle. But David answered his brother, saying, What wrong have I now done? And David said, Who is this Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? David called the armies of Israel the armies of God, because the children of Israel were God's chosen people; and he called God the living God, because all other gods are only dead idols. When the men who were near him, heard the words that David spoke, they told them to Saul, and Saul sent for him. And David came, but Saul did not remember him.
And David talked with Saul, and told him that he would go out against the Philistine. David said, Let no man's heart be afraid because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. Saul said to him, Thou art not able to go out against him, for thou art but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth. David answered, While I was keeping my father's sheep, there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; and I went after the lion and struck him, and set the lamb free from his mouth; and when he rose against me, I caught him by the beard and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this wicked Philistine shall be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. David said also, The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, he will save me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
And Saul gave David his own armor, his helmet of brass, and his coat of mail and his sword. But David said, I cannot go with these; and he put them off from him. Then he took his staff, such as shepherds carried, and he chose five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag that he had; and his sling was in his hand, and he came near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came near to David. But when he saw him, he thought him not worth fighting with; for David seemed not like a soldier, strong and brave, such as Goliath expected would come out against him; but like a shepherd boy, gentle, and with a beautiful face, who had never seen a battle.
And the Philistine said, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with a staff? And he called on the idols that he worshipped, to curse David, and told him to come near that he might kill him. David answered, Thou comest to me, trusting in thy sword, thy shield, and thy spear; but I come to thee, trusting in the God of Israel. For this day he will give thee into my hand, and I will kill thee and cut off thy head from thee; and the army of the Philistines shall be slain, and their dead bodies shall lie on the ground, and the birds of the air and wild beasts shall come and eat them.
When the Philistine came near, David made haste and ran toward him, and put his hand in his shepherd's bag, and took out a stone, and slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sunk into his forehead, and he fell down upon his face to the earth. So David overcame the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, for there was no sword in his hand. And David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword from him and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When all the Philistines saw that the man in whom they trusted was slain, they fled. Then the army of Israel rose up and shouted, and followed after them and slew them, and many fell down by the way as they fled. Afterward the men of Israel turned back from pursuing them, and went into the Philistines' camp, and took all the gold, the silver, and the raiment that they had left in their tents.
And David came from the battle with the head of Goliath in his hand. Then Abner, the captain of the army of Israel, took him and brought him to Saul, And Saul said, Whose son art thou, young man? David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite.
Now Jonathan, Saul's son, heard David speaking with his father, and when he heard how humbly David spoke, he loved him; the Bible says, he loved him as his own soul, that is, as much as he loved himself. It was the Lord who made him love David, so that David might have Jonathan for his friend in all the troubles that were afterward coming upon him.
And Saul took David that day to be with him, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. And Jonathan made a covenant with David, and promised to be kind to him, because he loved him as his own soul. To show his love he took off his robe, and the garments that he wore, and gave them to David, and his sword also, and his bow, and the girdle that was fastened around his waist. And David obeyed the commands of Saul, and behaved himself wisely in all things, and Saul made him a captain in his army.
After the battle with the Philistines, as Saul and David passed together through some of the cities of the land, the women came out with songs and dances, to praise them for their victory. But they praised David more than Saul; they said that Saul had slain thousands, but David had slain ten thousands of the Philistines. And Saul was greatly displeased at their words, and from that time he was jealous of David, and looked unkindly on him. The next day an evil spirit came into Saul's heart and troubled him, and David played before him on the harp, as he used to do. And Saul held a javelin, or spear, in his hand, and he cast it at David, intending that it should go through his body and fasten him to the wall, for he wanted to kill him. But David saw it, and stepped aside out of the way, and it did him no harm. And Saul cast it at him again, but he stepped aside this time also.
And Saul was afraid of David, because he saw that the Lord was with him, but he was not with Saul any more. And Saul sent David away from his house, with the soldiers that he had made him captain of. And the Lord helped David to do all things well, and all the people loved him. And Saul said to him, I will give thee Merab, my daughter for thy wife, if thou wilt go out and fight against the Philistines. Saul said this, because he hoped the Philistines would kill him. And David went and fought with them, but when the time came that he should have Merab, Saul gave her to be the wife of another man.
After that, Saul's younger daughter, Michal, loved David, and they told Saul of it. Then he said that if David would go and slay a hundred of the Philistines, he should have Michal for his wife; for he hoped that, this time, they would surely kill him. And David went with his soldiers and fought against the Philistines, and slew them, but David himself was not harmed; then Saul gave Michal to him, and she was his wife. And Saul saw that the Lord was with David to help him, and he was yet the more afraid of him, and came to be his enemy, and hated him. And he spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, and commanded them to kill David. But Jonathan loved David, and told him of what his father had said, saying, My father seeketh to kill thee, now therefore go to some secret place and hide thyself. And I will talk with my father, and what he says I will tell thee.
And Jonathan talked with Saul, and begged him not to harm David, for he said that David had done no evil to Saul, but had done that which was good. He had risked his own life, that he might kill Goliath, the Philistine, and, after he had killed him, the men of Israel gained a great victory. Saul knew of all these things, and was full of joy when they happened. Why, then, Jonathan asked, would he do so wicked a thing now, as to kill David, although David was a good man and had done nothing for which he deserved to die? And Saul listened to Jonathan's words, and promised, before the Lord, that David should not be slain. Then Jonathan called David from the place where he was hidden, and told him what his father had said. And he brought David to Saul, and David stayed at Saul's house again.
And there was war in the land, and David went out and fought with the Philistines, and gained the victory over them. But Saul was not pleased that he gained the victory, because it made the people love him yet more. And the evil spirit came into Saul's heart, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand, while David was playing on the harp before him. Then Saul cast the javelin again at David, to kill him, but David saw it and stepped aside, as he had done before, and the javelin went into the wall and did not harm him; and he fled that night.
And Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch that he should not escape in the night, and then to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, knew of it, and told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain. So she let him down through a window, where Saul's men could not see him, and he escaped from them. Then she took an image and laid it in his bed, and put a pillow under it, and covered it up, to make them think that David was there, and so let him have time to flee far away. And Saul commanded his men to go up into the chamber and take him, but when they came there, they found an image in the bed, laid on the pillow. And Saul was angry with Michal for this.
And David fled to Ramah, where Samuel lived, and told him of all that Saul had done. Afterward he came to Naioth, and some one told Saul of it, and Saul sent men to take him, but the Lord saved him out of their hands. Then he fled from Naioth to the place where Jonathan was, and went to him, and said, What have I done? What is my sin, that thy father seeketh to kill me? Now Jonathan had not heard that his father was trying to kill David; therefore he said to him, Thou shalt not die, my father will do nothing without first telling me of it. But David said it was true that Saul wanted to put him to death. Then Jonathan promised to do whatever David should ask of him.
Now the next day was to be a feast day, when Saul would expect David to come to his house and eat of the feast. But David was afraid to go, and he begged Jonathan to let him stay away for three days. When Saul should ask why he was not at the feast, Jonathan was to answer that he had given David permission to go to Bethlehem, where his father lived, that he might be with his family when they offered up their yearly sacrifice. If Saul should be angry when he heard this, David said it would show that he was determined to do him evil.
And Jonathan gave David permission to be away for three days. Then David asked, But who shall tell me what thy father says, when he hears that I have gone? Jonathan answered, Come, let us go out into the field. And they went out together into the field. And Jonathan told David, that after the three days were past, David should come and hide in the field behind a rock that was there. Then, Jonathan said? he would come out and shoot three arrows from his bow; as if he were shooting at a mark, and he would send a lad after the arrows to pick them up. If Jonathan should call out to the lad, The arrows are on this side of thee, David might know that Saul was not displeased with him, and would do him no harm. But if Jonathan should cry out, The arrows are beyond thee, David would know that he must flee, and that Saul meant to kill him. Jonathan took this plan because he feared he would be watched, and not be able to speak with David.
So David went away from Saul's house, and the next day was the day of the feast. And Saul sat down to eat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. Jonathan, and Abner, the captain of the host, sat near him; but David's seat was empty. And Saul asked nothing about David that day, for he thought something had happened to keep him away. But the next day David's seat was empty again; and Saul said to Jonathan, Why comes not David to eat, neither yesterday nor to-day? Jonathan answered, David asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. He said, Let me go, I pray thee, for our family has a sacrifice, and my brother has commanded me to be there; and now, I pray thee, let me go and see my brethren.
Then Saul was very angry with Jonathan for allowing David to go, and told him that he ought not to love David. Saul told him this, because he wanted Jonathan to be king after he himself should die; but now, he said, that Jonathan would never be king, as long as David lived. Therefore, he said, Send and bring him unto me, for he shall surely be put to death. But Jonathan asked, Why shall he be put to death? What evil has he done? Then Saul cast his javelin at Jonathan. Therefore Jonathan knew that his father was determined to slay David. So he rose up from the table in great anger, and would eat no food, for he was grieved for David, because his father had said these things of him.
The next day was the day on which David was to hide out in the field, behind the rock that Jonathan had shown him. And Jonathan went out at the time he had said, and a little lad went with him. And he sent the lad on before him that he might find the arrows he would shoot. Then he shot an arrow that passed over the lad. And Jonathan cried out loud, saying, The arrow is beyond thee; make haste; stay not! And David heard the words in the place where he was hidden, and he knew from those words that he must flee, because Saul meant to kill him.
And the lad gathered up the arrows and brought them to Jonathan, but he did not know why Jonathan had shot them, and called out after him. And Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the lad, and said, Go, carry them to the city. As soon as he was gone, David came out from his hiding-place, and he bowed down with his face to the ground, before Jonathan, three times. Then they came together and kissed one another, and wept with one another. And Jonathan told David to flee, and he helped him to escape from his father; because he loved David, and they had made a covenant together that they would be kind to each other, and to each other's children, forever. Then David rose up and fled from Saul. And Jonathan went back to the city.