28. Eliab, David's eldest brother, heard David talking to the men. He was angry with David and said, “What are you doing here? Who is taking care of those sheep of yours out there in the wilderness? You cheeky brat, you! You just came to watch the fighting!”
29. “Now what have I done?” David asked. “Can't I even ask a question?”
30. He turned to another man and asked him the same question, and every time he asked, he got the same answer.
31. Some men heard what David had said, and they told Saul, who sent for him.
32. David said to Saul, “Your Majesty, no one should be afraid of this Philistine! I will go and fight him.”
33. “No,” answered Saul. “How could you fight him? You're just a boy, and he has been a soldier all his life!”
34. “Your Majesty,” David said, “I take care of my father's sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear carries off a lamb,
35. I go after it, attack it, and rescue the lamb. And if the lion or bear turns on me, I grab it by the throat and beat it to death.
36. I have killed lions and bears, and I will do the same to this heathen Philistine, who has defied the army of the living God.
37. The Lord has saved me from lions and bears; he will save me from this Philistine.”“All right,” Saul answered. “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
38. He gave his own armour to David for him to wear: a bronze helmet, which he put on David's head, and a coat of armour.
39. David strapped Saul's sword over the armour and tried to walk, but he couldn't, because he wasn't used to wearing them. “I can't fight with all this,” he said to Saul. “I'm not used to it.” So he took it all off.
40. He took his shepherd's stick and then picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in his bag. With his sling ready, he went out to meet Goliath.
41. The Philistine started walking towards David, with his shield-bearer walking in front of him. He kept coming closer,
42. and when he got a good look at David, he was filled with scorn for him because he was just a nice, good-looking boy.
43. He said to David, “What's that stick for? Do you think I'm a dog?” And he called down curses from his god on David.
44. “Come on,” he challenged David, “and I will give your body to the birds and animals to eat.”