1 Samuel 18
18
Saul Becomes Jealous of David
1After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. 2From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. 3And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. 4Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
5Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike.
6When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.#18:6 The type of instrument represented by the word cymbals is uncertain. 7This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”
8This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” 9So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
10The very next day a tormenting spirit#18:10 Or an evil spirit. from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, 11and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.
12Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. 13Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.
14David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. 15When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. 16But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.
David Marries Saul’s Daughter
17One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”
18“Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” 19So#18:19 Or But. when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
20In the meantime, Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. 21“Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”
22Then Saul told his men to say to David, “The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don’t you accept the king’s offer and become his son-in-law?”
23When Saul’s men said these things to David, he replied, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?”
24When Saul’s men reported this back to the king, 25he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
26David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, 27he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king’s requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife.
28When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, 29Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.
30Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous.
Currently Selected:
1 Samuel 18: NLT
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
1 Samuel 18
18
1After David finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan became great friends with David. He loved David as he loved himself. 2From that time on Jonathan had David work for him and would not let him go back home. 3Jonathan made a solemn agreement with David because he loved him as he loved himself. 4Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, together with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.#18:4. These actions were a way of confirming the agreement.
5David was successful in doing everything Saul asked him to do, so Saul made him an officer in the army. This pleased everyone, including Saul's other officers.
6When the soldiers returned home after David had killed the Philistine, the women of all the towns of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul, happily celebrating with tambourines and musical instruments. 7As they danced the women sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
8What they were singing made Saul very angry as he didn't think it was right. He said to himself, “They've given David credit for killing tens of thousands, but only thousands to me. All that's left is to give him the kingdom!” 9From that time on Saul viewed David with suspicion.
10The following day an evil spirit from God came on Saul with power, and he was ranting#18:10. “Ranting”: the word is normally translated “prophesying,” (see for example 10:10 when it is applied to Saul), but the main function of a true prophet of God was to deliver messages from God. That the source was “an evil spirit” does not fit such a picture, even if the evil spirit “came from God.” inside the house while David played the harp as he regularly did. Saul happened to be holding a spear, 11and he threw it at David, saying to himself, “I'll pin David to the wall.” But David managed to escape him twice.
12Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David, but he had given up on Saul. 13So Saul sent David away and made him a commander of a thousand soldiers, leading them out and back as part of the army.
14David was very successful in everything he did, because the Lord was with him. 15When Saul saw how successful David was, he was even more afraid of him. 16But everyone in Israel and Judah loved David, because of his leadership in the army.
17One day Saul told David, “Here's my oldest daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage, but only if you prove to me you're a brave warrior and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul was thinking, “I don't need to be the one to kill him—let the Philistines do it!”
18“But who am I, and what status does my family have in Israel, for me to become the son-in-law of the king?” David replied.#18:18. David may have been concerned at the cost of providing a dowry, especially as this is a condition of marriage mentioned later in verse 25.
19However, when the time came to give Merab, Saul's daughter, to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah instead.
20Meanwhile Saul's daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and when Saul was told, he was happy about it. 21“I'll give her to David,” Saul thought. “She can be the bait so the Philistines can trap him.” So Saul said to David, “This is the second time you can become my son-in-law.”
22Saul gave these instructions to his servants, “Talk with David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is very happy with you, and all of us love you. Why not become the king's son-in-law?’”
23Saul's servants spoke privately to David, but he replied, “Do you think it's nothing to become the king's son-in-law? I'm a poor man, and I'm not important.”
24When Saul's servants explained to him what David had said, 25Saul told them, “Tell David, ‘The only dowry the king wants for the bride is one hundred foreskins of dead Philistines as a way of taking revenge on his enemies.’” Saul's plan was to have David be killed by the Philistines.
26When the servants reported what the king had said back to David, he was happy to become the king's son-in-law. While there was still time, 27David set off with his men and killed two hundred Philistines, and brought back their foreskins. They counted them all out before the king so that David could become the king's son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal was in love with David, 29and so he became even more afraid of David, and was David's enemy for the rest of his life.
30Whenever the Philistine commanders attacked, David was more successful in battle than all of Saul's officers, so that his reputation grew rapidly.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com