The Philistines gathered their forces for war and camped at Socoh in Judah, at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites camped in the Valley of Elah, each army occupying a hill with the valley between them.
A champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall, wearing bronze armor weighing about 125 pounds, bronze greaves on his legs, a bronze javelin on his back, and a spear with an iron point weighing around 15 pounds. His shield bearer went ahead of him.
Goliath challenged the Israelites daily for forty days, shouting, "Choose a man to come down and fight me. If he kills me, we will become your subjects; but if I defeat him, you will serve us." Saul and all Israel were dismayed and terrified.
Meanwhile, David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, was tending his father's sheep while his three oldest brothers were with Saul at the battle. One day, Jesse sent David with food and cheese to check on his brothers at the camp. David arrived as the armies were lining up, and he heard Goliath's usual challenge.
David asked the men around him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?" They told him about Saul's promises of wealth, marriage, and exemption for the family.
Eliab, David's oldest brother, became angry and accused David of pride and wickedness. "What have I done?" David replied. "Can't I even speak?" He continued to ask the soldiers about the reward for killing the Philistine.
When Saul heard David's words, he sent for him. David told Saul, "Let no one lose heart because of this Philistine; your servant will fight him. I have killed lions and bears protecting my father's sheep, and this Philistine will be like one of them. The LORD who delivered me from the lion and bear will deliver me from this Philistine."
Saul agreed and said, "Go, and the LORD be with you." He dressed David in his own armor, but David was not used to it and removed it. He took his staff, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in his shepherd's bag, and approached Goliath with his sling.
Goliath saw David and despised him, cursing him by his gods. David replied, "You come against me with sword and spear, but I come in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will hand you over to me, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. All the world will know that there is a God in Israel, and the battle belongs to the LORD."
As Goliath moved closer, David ran toward him, slinging a stone that struck Goliath in the forehead. He fell face down to the ground. David ran, drew Goliath's sword, killed him, and cut off his head. Seeing their champion dead, the Philistines fled.
The men of Israel and Judah pursued them, and many Philistines died along the way. The Israelites plundered the Philistine camp. David took Goliath's head to Jerusalem and kept his weapons. Saul, watching, asked Abner, the commander, "Whose son is that young man?" Abner didn't know, so Saul demanded, "Find out." When David returned, still holding Goliath's head, Saul asked, "Whose son are you?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."