1 Samuel 19
19
Saul Tries to Kill David
1#1Sa 18:1And Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted very much in David. 2Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore, be on guard in the morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3#1Sa 20:9; 20:13And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. Then I will speak about you to my father, and what I observe I will report to you.”
4#Jer 18:20; Ge 42:22; 1Sa 20:32Jonathan spoke positively of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been very good toward you. 5#1Sa 11:13; 1Ch 11:14For he took his life in his hand and struck down the Philistine, and the Lord made a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Now why then would you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without cause?”
6So Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, he will not be killed.”
7#1Sa 16:21; 18:2Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as previously.
8Then there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines. He slew them with a great slaughter and they fled from him.
9#1Sa 16:14; 18:10–11Now an evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10#1Sa 20:33; 18:11Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence. He struck the spear into the wall. But David fled and escaped that night.
11#Jdg 16:2; Ps 59:1–17Saul also sent messengers to the house of David, to watch him and to slay him in the morning. But Michal, wife of David, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead.” 12#Jos 2:15; Ac 9:24–25So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled to safety. 13#Ge 31:19; Jdg 18:14Michal took an idol and laid it in the bed, and put a braided goat hair pillow for its head and covered it with clothes.
14#Jos 2:5When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”
15Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16When the messengers came in, there was the idol in the bed with a goat hair pillow for its head.
17#2Sa 2:22Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?”
And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’ ”
18#1Sa 7:17Now David fled, and he escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah. And he reported to him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. 19It was told Saul, saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20#Jn 7:32; 1Sa 10:10; Joel 2:28Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel taking his stand over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. 21When it was reported to Saul, he sent other messengers. And they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again a third time, and they too prophesied. 22Then he also went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Seku. And he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?”
And one said, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.
23#1Sa 10:10; 19:20He went there to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came upon him also. And he went on and he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24#2Sa 6:20; Isa 20:2He stripped off his clothes and he also prophesied before Samuel. And he lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
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1 Samuel 19: MEV
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Military Bible Association
1 Samuel 19
19
The Black Mood of Saul
1-3Saul called his son Jonathan together with his servants and ordered them to kill David. But because Jonathan treasured David, he went and warned him: “My father is looking for a way to kill you. Here’s what you are to do. Tomorrow morning, hide and stay hidden. I’ll go out with my father into the field where you are hiding. I’ll talk about you with my father and we’ll see what he says. Then I’ll report back to you.”
4-5Jonathan brought up David with his father, speaking well of him. “Please,” he said to his father, “don’t attack David. He hasn’t wronged you, has he? And just look at all the good he has done! He put his life on the line when he killed the Philistine. What a great victory God gave Israel that day! You were there. You saw it and were on your feet applauding with everyone else. So why would you even think of sinning against an innocent person, killing David for no reason whatever?”
6Saul listened to Jonathan and said, “You’re right. As God lives, David lives. He will not be killed.”
7Jonathan sent for David and reported to him everything that was said. Then he brought David back to Saul and everything was as it was before.
8War broke out again and David went out to fight Philistines. He beat them badly, and they ran for their lives.
9-10But then a black mood from God settled over Saul and took control of him. He was sitting at home, his spear in his hand, while David was playing music. Suddenly, Saul tried to skewer David with his spear, but David ducked. The spear stuck in the wall and David got away. It was night.
11-14Saul sent men to David’s house to stake it out and then, first thing in the morning, to kill him. But Michal, David’s wife, told him what was going on. “Quickly now—make your escape tonight. If not, you’ll be dead by morning!” She let him out of a window, and he made his escape. Then Michal took a dummy god and put it in the bed, placed a wig of goat’s hair on its head, and threw a quilt over it. When Saul’s men arrived to get David, she said, “He’s sick in bed.”
15-16Saul sent his men back, ordering them, “Bring him, bed and all, so I can kill him.” When the men entered the room, all they found in the bed was the dummy god with its goat-hair wig!
17Saul stormed at Michal: “How could you play tricks on me like this? You sided with my enemy, and now he’s gotten away!”
18Michal said, “He threatened me. He said, ‘Help me out of here or I’ll kill you.’”
David made good his escape and went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel withdrew to the privacy of Naioth.
19-20Saul was told, “David’s at Naioth in Ramah.” He immediately sent his men to capture him. They saw a band of prophets prophesying with Samuel presiding over them. Before they knew it, the Spirit of God was on them, too, and they were ranting and raving right along with the prophets!
21That was reported back to Saul, and he dispatched more men. They, too, were soon prophesying. So Saul tried a third time—a third set of men—and they ended up mindlessly raving as well!
22Fed up, Saul went to Ramah himself. He came to the big cistern at Secu and inquired, “Where are Samuel and David?”
A bystander said, “Over at Naioth in Ramah.”
23-24As he headed out for Naioth in Ramah, the Spirit of God was on him, too. All the way to Naioth he was caught up in a babbling trance! He ripped off his clothes and lay there rambling gibberish before Samuel for a day and a night, stretched out naked. People are still talking about it: “Saul among the prophets! Who would have guessed?”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.