Num 23:24, Judg 3:15-29, 20:21, 25, 1Sa 11:4-11, 1Sa 14-15, 1Sa 17 | ESV | STEP | Behold , a people ! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain .

24 Behold, a people! ^aAs a lioness it rises up
and as a lion it lifts itself;
^bit does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”

Judges 3:15-29

15 Then the people of Israel ^ccried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them ^da deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, ^ea left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit ^{▼▼A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back ^gat the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his ^hcool roof chamber. ⁱAnd Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain} and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him ^kand locked them.

24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, ^l“Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond ^mthe idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, ⁿhe sounded the trumpet in ^othe hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, ^pfor the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized ^qthe fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped.

Judges 20:21

21 ^rThe people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites.

Judges 20:25

25 And Benjamin ^swent against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel. All these were men who ^tdrew the sword.

1 Samuel 11:4-11

4 When the messengers came to ^uGibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, ^vand all the people wept aloud.

5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 ^wAnd the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen ^xand cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, ^y“Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out ^zas one man. 8 When he mustered them at ^aaBezek, ^abthe people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have ^acsalvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, ^ad“Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 ^aeAnd the next day Saul put the people ^afin three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

1 Samuel 14

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave ^{▼▼Or under the pomegranate [tree]} at ^ahMigron. The people who were with him were about ^aisix hundred men, 3 including ^ajAhijah the son of Ahitub, ^akIchabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord ^alin Shiloh, ^amwearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 4 Within ^anthe passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of ^aoGeba.

6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these ^apuncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, ^aqfor nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. ^{▼▼Septuagint Do all that your mind inclines to} Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming ^asout of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12 And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14 And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre ^{▼▼Hebrew a yoke} of land. 15 And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even ^authe raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic. ^{▼▼Or became a panic from God}

16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude ^awwas dispersing here and there. ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew they went here and there} 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. 18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people ^{▼▼Hebrew; Septuagint “Bring the ephod.” For at that time he wore the ephod before the people} of Israel. 19 Now ^azwhile Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, ^baevery Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. 21 Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, ^bbeven they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise, when all the men of Israel ^bcwho had hidden themselves ^bdin the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. 23 ^beSo the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond ^bfBeth-aven.

Saul’s Rash Vow

24 And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, ^bgso Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. 25 Now when all the people ^{▼▼Hebrew land} came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. 26 And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, ^biso he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. 28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were ^bjfaint. 29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

31 They struck down the Philistines that day from ^bkMichmash to ^blAijalon. And the people were very ^bmfaint. 32 The people ^bnpounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them ^bowith the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating ^bpwith the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.” ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew this day} 34 And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there. 35 And Saul ^brbuilt an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

36 Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But ^bsthe priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 37 And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” ^btBut he did not answer him that day. 38 And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. 39 For ^buas the Lord lives who saves Israel, ^bvthough it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. 40 Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” 41 Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” ^{▼▼Vulgate and Septuagint; Hebrew Therefore Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give Thummim.”} ^bxAnd Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. 42 Then Saul said, ^by“Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, ^bz“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, ^ca“I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” 44 And Saul said, ^cb“God do so to me and more also; ^ccyou shall surely die, Jonathan.” 45 Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! ^cdAs the Lord lives, ^cethere shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. 46 Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies

47 When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^cfagainst the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of ^cgZobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. 48 And he did valiantly ^chand struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

49 ^ciNow the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was ^cjMerab, and the name of the younger Michal. 50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. ^ckAnd the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, ^clSaul’s uncle. 51 ^cmKish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of ^cnAbiel.

52 There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, ^cohe attached him to himself.

1 Samuel 15

The Lord Rejects Saul

1 And Samuel said to Saul, ^cp“The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel ^cqin opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and ^crdevote to destruction ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20, 21} all that they have. Do not spare them, ^ctbut kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to ^cuthe Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. ^cvFor you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 ^cwAnd Saul defeated the Amalekites from ^cxHavilah as far as ^cyShur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive ^czand devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 ^daBut Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew term is uncertain} and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 ^dc“I regret ^{▼▼See also verses 29, 35} that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and ^dehas not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to ^dfCarmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, ^dg“Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, ^dhfor the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, ^di“Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? ^djWhy did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, ^dk“I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 ^dlBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,

^dm“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, ^dnto obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and ^doidolatry.
Because ^dpyou have rejected the word of the Lord,
^dqhe has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, ^dr“I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and ^dsreturn with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. ^dtFor you have rejected the word of the Lord, ^duand the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 ^dvAs Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, ^dw“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel ^dxwill not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet ^dyhonor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, ^dzand return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. ^{▼▼Or haltingly (compare Septuagint); the Hebrew is uncertain} Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, ^eb“As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord ^ecin Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went ^edto Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in ^eeGibeah of Saul. 35 ^efAnd Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, ^egbut Samuel grieved over Saul. ^ehAnd the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 17

David and Goliath

1 Now the Philistines ^eigathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at ^ejSocoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and ^ekAzekah, in ^elEphes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in ^emthe Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And 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. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named ^enGoliath of ^eoGath, whose height was six ^{▼▼Hebrew; Septuagint, Dead Sea Scroll and Josephus four} cubits ^{▼▼A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} and a span. 5 He 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 shekels ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a ^esjavelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. ^etAnd his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and ^euare you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If 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 ^evand serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, ^ew“I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was ^exthe son of an ^eyEphrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, ^eznamed Jesse, ^fawho had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew advanced among men} 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And ^fcthe names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 ^fdDavid was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul ^feto feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters} of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 ^fgAlso take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. ^fhSee if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And 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 ^fithe encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the ^fjthings in charge of the keeper of the ^fkbaggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, ^flthe champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke ^fmthe same words as before. And David heard him.

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

28 Now 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.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke ^fuin the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, ^fv“Let no man’s heart fail because of him. ^fwYour servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And 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.” 34 But 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, 35 I 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. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, ^fxfor he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, ^fy“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, ^fzand the Lord be with you!”

38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and 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. 40 Then 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.

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

48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And 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.

50 So 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. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine ^gland 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, ^gmthey fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew Gai} and the gates of ^goEkron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from ^gpShaaraim as far as ^gqGath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took ^grthe head of the Philistine ^gsand brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

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