On the one side … on the other side: that is, on the two sides of the Valley of Elah mentioned in the previous verse.

A valley: the Hebrew word is not the same as that translated “valley” in verse 2. The Hebrew word here refers to a gorge or “ravine” (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Klein) cut out by a stream of water running down the valley of Elah. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation use the indefinite article, “a [valley],” though Hebrew says “the valley [or, ravine].” Use of the indefinite article “a [valley]” in English gives the wrong impression that the valley separating the two armies is different from the valley mentioned in verse 2. New Jerusalem Bible and La Bible du Semeur more clearly say “the valley.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

By stating Goliath’s name at the beginning of the first sentence and breaking this verse down into two sentences, Good News Translation has restructured the order to read more naturally in English style. Similar restructuring in other languages may sound more normal.

Goliath, of Gath: it may be helpful to add a qualifier, indicating that Gath is a city (see the comments on 5.8). The Hebrew word translated champion in Revised Standard Version (and for some unknown reason left untranslated in Good News Translation) occurs only here and in verse 23 below in all the Old Testament. The word comes from a preposition meaning “in between.” It is often understood to mean a champion in the sense of one who steps out between two opposing armies to do single combat. It is questionable, however, whether the word itself means champion, though Goliath surely was. This same word appears in one of the writings from Qumran, where it means “an infantryman,” who fights between the battle lines. It is better to translate this as “an infantryman” (so Anchor Bible). See also Bible en français courant, “A Philistine soldier.”

Six cubits and a span: a cubit is about forty-five centimeters (eighteen inches). It is based of the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger of an adult male. A span (the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger when a man’s hand is spread out) is nearly half a cubit, that is, about eight inches or about twenty-two centimeters. The height of Goliath will need to be expressed in an understandable form in the receptor language. But it need not be expressed in precise terms. Good News Translation says “over nine feet tall.” New Century Version is probably too specific: “about nine feet and four inches tall.” Where the metric system is used, the equivalent will be “nearly 3 meters” (Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

As the note in Good News Translation indicates, there is a textual problem in this verse. The Septuagint and a Hebrew manuscript from Qumran state that Goliath was four cubits and a span, which equals “six and a half feet tall” (New American Bible). But the failure to mention this problem in Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests that the Masoretic Text should be followed here.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

It may seem odd in some languages to state as the Hebrew does that Goliath wore the helmet on his head, since a helmet by definition is worn on the head. Good News Translation leaves that information implicit. Bronze is a compound consisting of copper and tin. Compare Gen 4.22 and Josh 6.19. But there are contexts in which the same Hebrew term seems to mean “copper” (Deut 8.9). Where copper and bronze are unknown, translators may have to resort to a more general term meaning “metal.”

A coat of mail: this was a garment made of interlocking metal rings or small scales that were tied together with leather thongs. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh calls this “a breast-plate of scale armor” (similarly New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version, New International Version).

Five thousand shekels of bronze: about sixty kilograms (132 pounds). Translators are not encouraged to translate by retaining the Hebrew unit of measure but are rather urged to use a modern equivalent in the receptor language. For example, New International Version, which uses a modern equivalent for the height of Goliath, should not be followed with regard to the weight of his armor, since it adopts a literal rendering of the Hebrew.

The placement of the word meaning of bronze is odd in English. It refers to the material of which the coat of mail was made and seems out of place as a part of the weight. Translators will almost certainly want to shift it forward.

The description of Goliath’s armor in verses 5-6 shows that most of his body is protected. All of this prepares the reader for verse 49, where David strikes the giant in his forehead, the one unprotected part of Goliath’s body.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Greaves is a technical term referring to shin guards that protect the legs. They probably protected the front part of the lower legs. Some possible model translations include “he wore things on his legs to shield them,” “he covered his legs with metal to protect them,” or “he wore bronze protectors on his legs” (New Century Version). The Hebrew word on which the English greaves is based occurs only here in all the Old Testament.

A javelin was like a small spear that was thrown at the enemy. The variety of translations show that there is uncertainty about the exact meaning of the Hebrew word. New Century Version calls it “a small spear,” Revised English Bible says “a bronze dagger,” and New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Anchor Bible call it a “bronze scimitar,” that is, a saber made of a curved blade, with the sharp edge on the outer convex side of the blade. Some support for the rendering “scimitar” comes from a passage in one of the Qumran writings. Further support for the rendering “scimitar” or “a curved sword” comes from verse 51 below, where it is said that David withdrew Goliath’s sword.

The javelin, or, more accurately, the scimitar, was slung between his shoulders, that is “tied on his back” (New Century Version). New American Bible uses a technical term here, “slung from a baldric.” A baldric is a belt worn over one shoulder to support a sword or bugle. If the receptor language has such an equivalent term, it may be used here.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

A weaver’s beam is the shaft of a loom to which the cloth is fastened. Most interpreters think the size of the spear is being compared to the thickness of a weaver’s beam (so Good News Translation and Bible en français courant). A different interpretation is possible, however. Archaeological evidence indicates that some spears had a loop of cord attached to the end of them to help the soldier throw the spear farther. This loop of cord resembled the loop of cord tied to the piece of wood (a heddle-rod) used to lift alternate threads on a loom while weaving. The New American Bible translation is based on this second interpretation: “The shaft of his javelin was like a weaver’s heddle-bar” (so also Klein and Anchor Bible).

The first interpretation (Good News Translation) understands the comparison of the spear and the weaver’s beam to be that of size, that is, “as thick as.” The second interpretation (New American Bible), which is more probable, understands the comparison to be the loops of cord, which allowed the spear to be thrown with greater accuracy. If the second interpretation is followed, it may be necessary to explain the basis of the comparison by saying something like “the shaft of his spear had a loop of cord around it, like that on a weaver’s beam, in order to throw it further and more accurately.” But such detailed information should probably be reserved for a footnote.

Spear’s head: the head of the spear, as indicated in Good News Translation, was made of iron. It was made long and had a sharp point at the end.

Six hundred shekels of iron: in the metric system this is “nearly seven kilos” (La Bible du Semeur) or “more than seven kilos.” The note in Osty-Trinquet, which speaks of “almost eighteen kilograms,” seems to be a misprint for “eight.” New Century Version and Contemporary English Version say “fifteen pounds,” which is roughly equivalent to the “seven kilos” mentioned and corresponds to Good News Translation.

The placement of the words of iron, like of bronze in verse 5, may be unnatural, and they may need to be shifted to a different position in the sentence.

Shield-bearer: though the Hebrew does not say that the shield-bearer was carrying Goliath’s shield, the original readers would have understood that he did. It may be necessary to make that information explicit, as Good News Translation has done. Good News Translation does not make clear, however, that this task of carrying the shield was an official assignment in the military. New Century Version says “the officer who carried his shield walked in front of him.” This shield was a large one used to protect the whole body, unlike the smaller shield that was held with one hand and was swung about for protection.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Since the initial pronoun, He, may possibly be understood to refer to the shield-bearer mentioned in the previous verse, it may be wise to follow Good News Translation and Bible en français courant in substituting the name “Goliath” at this point. Revised English Bible accomplishes the same purpose by using the noun “champion” instead of the name.

The ranks of Israel: the word ranks translates a technical military term for “battle lines.” See the comments on 4.2. New Jerusalem Bible says “Taking a position in front of the Israelite lines.” Good News Translation does not translate the word ranks here, since the question “What are you doing there, lined up for battle?” indicates that the Israelite troops stood in orderly battle formation.

Draw up for battle: see the comments on this verb at 4.2 and verse 2 of this chapter.

The questions that Goliath asks are not requests for information. Goliath’s questions were intended to insult the Israelite soldiers. New Jerusalem Bible captures this tone with the question “Am I not a Philistine and are you not Saul’s lackeys?”

Am I not a Philistine…? Hebrew has the definite article, that is, “Am I not the Philistine?” Goliath is not merely contrasting the Philistine soldiers with the Israelite soldiers, as both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation seem to suggest. Perhaps the article here expresses that Goliath is the best representative of the Philistine people. Osty-Trinquet says “Am I not, I myself, the Philistine?” Revised English Bible also captures this force of the definite article: “I am the Philistine champion and you are Saul’s men” (so also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). This last model is also helpful because it transforms the question into a categorical statement.

Let him come down to me: Goliath had already descended into the valley that separated the Philistines and the Israelites (see verse 3). This information may be stated explicitly as “let him come down here in the valley to fight me.” See also verse 25.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The pronoun we would clearly not include Goliath if he were killed by his opponent. So in some languages it may be more appropriate to say “the rest of us” or “my fellow Philistines [will be your servants].”

Servants: in this context the Hebrew word is more accurately translated “slaves.”

Prevail against: translates the same verb as is able at the beginning of this verse. Good News Translation reflects this correspondence by using the verb “win” in both cases. New American Bible similarly has “if he beats me” and “if I beat him.”

The expressions be our servants and serve us have the same meaning, and it may sound redundant to try to translate the meaning twice. The repetition is probably for the sake of emphasis, but other languages may find other more natural ways to show this emphasis.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And the Philistine said: Goliath began speaking in verse 8, and he continues to speak in verses 9 and 10. Good News Translation omits the words And the Philistine said, since there is no change in speaker. But translators may wish to retain these words to keep the speaker in focus, if this is natural in the receptor language.

Defy: the same verb is translated “taunted” in Judges 8.15. It suggests an attitude of insolence and contempt. In some language it may be necessary to translate “tried to provoke.” Fox says “I mock.”

The ranks of Israel: see the comments on verse 8.

Give me a man: by using this expression Goliath is challenging his opponents to select a person to engage him in battle. Some other ways of wording this are “choose someone” (Contemporary English Version) and “send one of your men” (New Century Version).

Fight together: not, of course, that they will fight together against someone else, but rather they will “fight it out” (Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible) between the two of them.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .