1 Samuel 17:32-40

32David said to King Saul, ‘We should not be afraid of this Philistine! I am your servant. I am ready to go and fight against him.’

33Saul replied, ‘You could not fight against this strong Philistine. You are only a boy! He has been a brave soldier since he was a young man.’

34But David said to Saul, ‘Sir, I have been a shepherd who takes care of his father's sheep. Sometimes a lion or a bear would come to take a lamb from among the sheep.

35Then I would chase after the lion or the bear. I would knock it down and I would save the lamb from its mouth. If the wild animal turned to attack me, I would take hold of its neck. Then I would hit it and kill it.

36I have killed lions and bears like that. I will do the same to this unclean Philistine. He has insulted the army of our God, who lives for ever.

37The Lord has kept me safe from lions and bears. He will also save me from the power of this Philistine soldier.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Then do it! I pray that the Lord will help you.’

38Saul took his own clothes and armour and he put them on David. He put his bronze helmet on David's head.

39David tied Saul's sword on top of the armour. Then he tried to walk. But he had not worn heavy armour like that before. So David said to Saul, ‘I cannot wear all this armour to fight. I have not used armour before.’ So David took it all off.

40Instead, David picked up his shepherd's stick. He picked up five round stones from the stream. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd's bag. He held his sling in his hand. Then he walked towards the Philistine soldier.