1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze saber slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-carrier walked in front of him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.
12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, the man whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who had gone into the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and second to him, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah. 14 So David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine came forward morning and evening, and took his stand for forty days.
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 Bring also these ten slices of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the well-being of your brothers and bring back confirmation from them. 19 For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the Valley of Elah, fighting the Philistines.”
20 So David got up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper, and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the entrenchment encircling the camp while the army was going out in battle formation, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle formation, army against army. 22 Then David left the baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line. And he entered and greeted his brothers. 23 As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard him.
24 When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were very fearful. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will make the man who kills him wealthy with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
26 Then David said to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and rids Israel of the disgrace? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to defy the armies of the living God?” 27 The people answered him in agreement with this statement, saying, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard him when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why is it that you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a question?” 30 Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people replied with the same words as before.
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they informed Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “May no one’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 33 But Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, 35 I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “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.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor. 39 And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them.” And David took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
41 Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and reddish, with a handsome appearance. 43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals.” 45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a saber, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that this entire assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will hand you over to us!”
48 Then it happened, when the Philistine came closer to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and they pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the Philistine dead lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the sons of Israel returned from their close pursuit of the Philistines, and plundered their camps. 54 And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55 Now when Saul had seen David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “You then, ask whose son the youth is.” 57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58 Then Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves. 2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on Me.” 4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one purpose and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, for the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers, 9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written:
“Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles,
And I will sing praises to Your name.”
10 Again he says,
“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.”
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord all you Gentiles,
And let all the peoples praise Him.”
12 Again Isaiah says,
“There shall come the root of Jesse,
And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,
In Him will the Gentiles hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 And concerning you, my brothers and sisters, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. 15 But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given to me from God, 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. 18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And in this way I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already known by name, so that I would not build on another person’s foundation; 21 but just as it is written:
“They who have not been told about Him will see,
And they who have not heard will understand.”
22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; 23 but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you 24 whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while— 25 but now, I am going to Jerusalem, serving the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to do them a service also in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
30 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; 32 so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and relax in your company. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
1 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He has hurled
The glory of Israel from heaven to earth,
And has not remembered His footstool
In the day of His anger.
2 The Lord has destroyed; He has not spared
All the settlements of Jacob.
In His wrath He has overthrown
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah,
He has hurled them down to the ground;
He has profaned the kingdom and its leaders.
3 In fierce anger He has cut off
All the strength of Israel;
He has pulled back His right hand
From the enemy.
And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
Consuming on all sides.
4 He has bent His bow like an enemy;
His right hand is positioned like an adversary,
And He has killed everything that was pleasant to the eye.
In the tent of the daughter of Zion
He has poured out His wrath like fire.
5 The Lord has become like an enemy.
He has engulfed Israel;
He has engulfed all its palaces,
He has destroyed its strongholds
And caused great mourning and grieving in the daughter of Judah.
6 And He has treated His tabernacle violently, like a despised garden;
He has destroyed His appointed meeting place.
The Lord has caused
The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion to be forgotten,
And He has despised king and priest
In the indignation of His anger.
7 The Lord has rejected His altar,
He has repudiated His sanctuary;
He has handed over
The walls of her palaces to the enemy.
They have made a noise in the house of the Lord
As on the day of an appointed feast.
8 The Lord determined to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out a line,
He has not restrained His hand from destroying,
And He has caused rampart and wall to mourn;
They have languished together.
9 Her gates have sunk into the ground,
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her leaders are among the nations;
The Law is gone.
Her prophets, too, find
No vision from the Lord.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground and are silent.
They have thrown dust on their heads;
They have put on sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes fail because of tears,
My spirit is greatly troubled;
My heart is poured out on the earth
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
When little ones and infants languish
In the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they faint like a wounded person
In the streets of the city,
As their lives are poured out
In their mothers’ arms.
13 How shall I admonish you?
What shall I compare to you,
Daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I liken to you as I comfort you,
Virgin daughter of Zion?
For your collapse is as vast as the sea;
Who can heal you?
14 Your prophets have seen for you
Worthless and deceptive visions;
And they have not exposed your wrongdoing
So as to restore you from captivity,
But they have seen for you worthless and misleading pronouncements.
15 All who pass along the way
Clap their hands in ridicule at you;
They hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city of which they said,
‘Perfect in beauty,
A joy to all the earth’?”
16 All your enemies
Have opened their mouths wide against you;
They hiss and gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have engulfed her!
This certainly is the day which we awaited;
We have reached it, we have seen it!”
17 The Lord has done what He determined;
He has accomplished His word
Which He commanded from days of old.
He has torn down without sparing,
And He has helped the enemy to rejoice over you;
He has exalted the might of your adversaries.
18 Their heart cried out to the Lord:
“You wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let your tears stream down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief,
Let your eyes have no rest.
19 Arise, whimper in the night
At the beginning of the night watches;
Pour out your heart like water
Before the presence of the Lord;
Raise your hands to Him
For the life of your little ones
Who languish because of hunger
At the head of every street.
20 See, Lord, and look!
With whom have You dealt this way?
Should women really eat their children,
The little ones who were born healthy?
Should priest and prophet really be killed
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 On the ground in the streets
Lie young and old;
My virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword.
You have put them to death on the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered, without sparing.
22 You called as on the day of an appointed feast
My terrors on every side;
And there was no one who survived or escaped
On the day of the Lord’s anger.
As for those whom I brought forth healthy and whom I raised,
My enemy annihilated them.”
1 Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their lights.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
11 The plan of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who fashions the hearts of them all,
He who understands all their works.
16 The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who wait for His faithfulness,
19 To rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.