18. Also take these ten pieces of cheese for the officer who commands your brothers’ group of 1000 soldiers. See how your brothers are doing. Bring back something to show me your brothers are all right.
19. Your brothers are with Saul and all the Israelite soldiers in the Valley of Elah. They are there to fight against the Philistines.”
20. Early in the morning, David had another shepherd take care of the sheep while he took the food and left as Jesse had told him to. David drove their wagon to the camp. The soldiers were going out to their battle positions just as David arrived. The soldiers began shouting their war cry.
21. The Israelites and Philistines were lined up and ready for battle.
22. David left the food with the man who kept supplies. Then he ran to the place where the Israelite soldiers were and asked about his brothers.
23. While David was talking with his brothers, the Philistine champion fighter came out from the Philistine army. This was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath. Goliath shouted things against Israel as usual. David heard what he said.
24. The Israelite soldiers saw Goliath and ran away. They were all afraid of him.
25. One of the Israelite men said, “Did you see that man? Look at him! He comes out each day and makes fun of Israel. Whoever kills him will get rich. King Saul will give him a lot of money. Saul will also let his daughter marry the man who kills Goliath. He will also make that man’s family free from taxes in Israel.”
26. David asked the men standing near him, “What did he say? What is the reward for killing this Philistine and taking away this shame from Israel? Who is this Goliath anyway? He is only some foreigner, nothing but a Philistine. Why does he think he can speak against the army of the living God?”
27. So the Israelite told David about the reward for killing Goliath.
28. David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers and became angry. Eliab asked David, “Why did you come here? Who did you leave those few sheep with in the desert? I know why you came down here. You didn’t want to do what you were told to do. You just wanted to come down here to watch the battle.”
29. David said, “What did I do now? I didn’t do anything wrong! I was only talking.”
30. He turned to some other people and asked them the same questions. They gave him the same answers as before.
31. Some men heard David talking. They took David to Saul and told him what David had said.
32. David said to Saul, “People shouldn’t let Goliath discourage them. I am your servant. I will go fight this Philistine.”
33. Saul answered, “You can’t go out and fight against this Philistine. You’re not even a soldier! Goliath has been fighting in wars since he was a boy.”
34. But David said to Saul, “There were times when I was taking care of my father’s sheep that wild animals came to take some sheep from the flock. Once there was a lion and another time, a bear.
35. I chased that wild animal, attacked it, and took the sheep from its mouth. The wild animal jumped on me, but I caught it by the fur under its mouth. And I hit it and killed it.
36. I killed both a lion and a bear like that! And I will kill that foreigner, Goliath, just like them. Goliath will die because he made fun of the army of the living God.