Daily Reading for Wednesday, January 17th, 2024

Reading 1, First Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

³² David said to Saul, 'Let no one be discouraged on his account; your servant will go and fight this Philistine.'

³³ Saul said to David, 'You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior since his youth.'

³⁷ 'Yahweh,' David went on, 'who delivered me from the claws of lion and bear, will deliver me from the clutches of this Philistine.' Then Saul said to David, 'Go, and Yahweh be with you!'

⁴⁰ He took his stick in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the river bed and put them in his shepherd's bag, in his pouch; then, sling in hand, he walked towards the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine, preceded by his shield-bearer, came nearer and nearer to David.

⁴² When the Philistine looked David up and down, what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a lad, with ruddy cheeks and an attractive appearance.

⁴³ The Philistine said to David, 'Am I a dog for you to come after me with sticks?' And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, 'Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the wild beasts!'

⁴⁵ David retorted to the Philistine, 'You come to me with sword, spear and scimitar, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh Sabaoth, God of the armies of Israel, whom you have challenged.

⁴⁶ Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand; I shall kill you, I shall cut off your head; today, I shall give your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts, so that the whole world may know that there is a God in Israel,

⁴⁷ and this whole assembly know that Yahweh does not give victory by means of sword and spear -- for Yahweh is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.'

⁴⁸ No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David darted out of the lines and ran to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹ Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell face downwards on the ground.

⁵⁰ Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; he hit the Philistine and killed him, though he had no sword in his hand.

⁵¹ David ran and stood over the Philistine, seized his sword, pulled it from the scabbard, despatched him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 144:1, 2, 9-10

¹ [Of David] Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,

² my faithful love, my bastion, my citadel, my Saviour; I shelter behind him, my shield, he makes the peoples submit to me.

⁹ God, I sing to you a new song, I play to you on the ten-stringed lyre,

¹⁰ for you give kings their victories, you rescue your servant David. From the sword of evil

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