David and the Giant - A Bible Story of David and Goliath (I Samuel)

Jul 17, 2026

A beginner-friendly English retelling of the Bible story of David and Goliath from I Samuel. The narrative sets the scene of opposing armies, introduces Goliath as a nearly three-meter-tall giant with heavy armor, and recounts the fear and retreat of the Israelite soldiers. It then follows young David as he delivers food to his brothers, hears the challenge again, asks who defies the living God, and faces conflict within his own family as the battle approaches.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time40 min

David and the Giant

The two armies and Goliath’s challenge

David travels to the battlefield

David asks who defies the living God

David and the Giant English Spiritual David and the Giant A Bible story of David and Goliath (I Samuel) for beginning readers by Gordon W. Martin Images by MBANJI Bawe Ernest. English United Kingdom Copyright © 2019, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[ ](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)[ ](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)adapt and add to this work, but you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. You must keep the copyright and credits for authors, illustrators, etc. Images by MBANJI Bawe Ernest, © 2019 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. David and the Giant A long time ago Saul was the king of Israel. He took the Israelite army out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites lined up for battle on one hill and the Philistines got ready to fight on another hill. There was a valley in between them. One of the Philistine soldiers was a giant named Goliath. He was almost three meters tall and wore heavy bronze armour. He carried a very big spear and had a javelin on his back. Another soldier walked in front of him carrying his shield. Goliath shouted to the Israelites,“Choose a champion and send him out to fight me! If he wins we will be your slaves but if I win all you Israelites will be our slaves!” All the Israelites were very frightened when they heard Goliath’s challenge. None of the soldiers wanted to fight him. Meanwhile, in the village of Bethlehem, an oldman named Jesse was talking to his youngest son David. He said,“David, take this food to your brothers who are in Saul’s army. Go and find out if they are all right.” So David asked someone to take care of his father’s sheep and went to find the army. He got to the camp just as the soldiers were going out to the battlefield. David followed the soldiers to the battlefield to find his brothers. While he was talking to them, Goliath shouted his challenge to the Israelites ashe had before. The Israelite soldiers were afraid and ran away. David asked some of them,“Who is this Philistine who dares to defy the army of the living God?” When David’s brother heard him say this he was angry and said: “Why aren’t you home guarding father’s sheep? You just want to see the battle!”

FAQs

Who is Goliath and what challenge does he make?

Goliath is a Philistine giant nearly three meters tall. He demands that Israel chooses a champion to fight him, promising enslavement for the losers.

Why are the Israelites afraid?

Hearing Goliath’s challenge, the Israelite soldiers fear him and none want to fight.

What does David do when he reaches the battlefield?

David follows the soldiers to find his brothers. While talking with them, he questions who this Philistine is who defies the army of the living God.

Jul 17, 2026

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