懂你英语 流利说 Level7 Unit3 Part3 : David and Goliath 2
So finally, to break the deadlock, the Philistines send their mightiest warrior down into the valley floor,
and he calls out and he says to the Israelites,
"Send your mightiest warrior down, and we'll have this out, just the two of us."
This was a tradition in ancient warfare called single combat.
It was a way of settling disputes without incurring the bloodshed of a major battle.
And the Philistine who is sent down, their mighty warrior, is a giant.
He's 6 foot 9.
He's outfitted head to toe in this glittering bronze armor,
and he's got a sword and he's got a javelin and he's got his spear. He is absolutely terrifying.
And he's so terrifying that none of the Israelite soldiers want to fight him.
It's a death wish, right? There's no way they think they can take him.
And finally the only person who will come forward is this young shepherd boy,
and he goes up to Saul and he says, "I'll fight him."
And Saul says, "You can't fight him. That's ridiculous. You're this kid. This is this mighty warrior."
But the shepherd is adamant.
He says, "No, no, no, you don't understand, I have been defending my flock against lions and wolves for years. I think I can do it."
And Saul has no choice. He's got no one else who's come forward.
So he says, "All right."
And then he turns to the kid, and he says, "But you've got to wear this armor. You can't go as you are."
So he tries to give the shepherd his armor, and the shepherd says, "No."
He says, "I can't wear this stuff."
The Biblical verse is, "I cannot wear this for I have not proved it," meaning, "I've never worn armor before. You've got to be crazy."
So he reaches down instead on the ground and picks up five stones and puts them in his shepherd's bag and starts to walk down the mountainside to meet the giant.
And the giant sees this figure approaching, and calls out, "Come to me so I can feed your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field."
He issues this kind of taunt towards this person coming to fight him.
And the shepherd draws closer and closer, and the giant sees that he's carrying a staff. That's all he's carrying.
Instead of a weapon, just this shepherd's staff, and he says -- he's insulted -- "Am I a dog that you would come to me with sticks?"
And the shepherd boy takes one of his stones out of his pocket, puts it in his sling and rolls it around and lets it fly,
and it hits the giant right between the eyes -- right here, in his most vulnerable spot -- and he falls down either dead or unconscious,
and the shepherd boy runs up and takes his sword and cuts off his head,
and the Philistines see this and they turn and they just run.
And of course, the name of the giant is Goliath and the name of the shepherd boy is David,
and the reason that story has obsessed me over the course of writing my book is that everything I thought I knew about that story turned out to be wrong.
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Why did armies agree to a fight between two soldiers? They want to resolve the deadlock without killing too many people.
Why has Goliath feel insulted as David approaches? He assumed that he would be fighting heavy infantry.
Why does Goliath assume about his fight with David? David is going to fight him in close combat.
To be vulnerable means ...to be open to attack or harm.
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(in alphabetical order...)
Although Goliath was wearing heavy armor all over his body, he was vulnerable between his eyes.
He’s such a terrifying figure that none of the Israelite soldiers want to fight him.
I have been defending my flock against lions and wolves for years.
It was a way of settling disputes without incurring the bloodshed of a major battle.
When he says, "Come to me," Goliath expects David to come to him to fight hand to hand.
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Finally, the only person who will come forward is this young shepherd boy, and he goes up to Saul and he says, "I'll fight him."
The shepherd boy takes one of his stones out of his pocket, puts it in his sling and rolls it around and lets it fly and it hits the giant right between the eyes -- right here, in his most vulnerable spot.
