1 Samuel 18
18
David’s Success
1When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan was bound to David in close friendship,#18:1 Lit the life of Jonathan was bound to the life of David and loved him as much as he loved himself.#1Sm 20:17; 2Sm 1:26 2Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him return to his father’s house.
3Jonathan made a covenant with David#1Sm 20:8,16; 23:18 because he loved him as much as himself. 4Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David,#Gn 41:42 along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
5David marched out with the army and was successful in everything Saul sent him to do. Saul put him in command of the fighting men, which pleased all the people and Saul’s servants as well.
6As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,#Ex 15:20–21; Jdg 11:34 singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments. 7As they danced, the women sang:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands.#1Sm 21:11; 29:5
8Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” #1Sm 15:28; 24:20 9So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward.
Saul Attempts to Kill David
10The next day an evil spirit sent from God came powerfully on Saul,#1Sm 16:14; 19:9 and he began to rave#18:10 Or prophesy inside the palace. David was playing the lyre as usual,#1Sm 16:23 but Saul was holding a spear,#1Sm 19:9 11and he threw it, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall.”#1Sm 19:10; 20:33 But David got away from him twice.
12Saul was afraid of David,#1Sm 18:15,29 because the Lord was with David#1Sm 16:13,18 but had left Saul.#1Sm 16:14; 17:36,47; 2Sm 5:2 13Therefore, Saul sent David away from him and made him commander over a thousand men. David led the troops#2Sm 5:2 14and continued to be successful in all his activities because the Lord was with him.#1Sm 3:19; 16:18 15When Saul observed that David was very successful, he dreaded him. 16But all Israel and Judah loved David#1Sm 18:5 because he was leading their troops. 17Saul told David, “Here is my oldest daughter Merab. I’ll give her to you as a wife#1Sm 17:25 if you will be a warrior for me and fight the Lord’s battles.”#Nm 21:14; 1Sm 17:36–37; 25:28 But Saul was thinking, “I don’t need to raise a hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”#1Sm 18:21,25
18Then David responded, “Who am I,#1Sm 9:21; 18:23; 2Sm 7:18 and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 19When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.#Jdg 7:22; 2Sm 21:8; 1Kg 19:16
David’s Marriage to Michal
20Now Saul’s daughter Michal#1Sm 18:28 loved David, and when it was reported to Saul, it pleased him. 21“I’ll give her to him,” Saul thought. “She’ll be a trap for him, and the hand of the Philistines will be against him.”#1Sm 18:17 So Saul said to David a second time, “You can now be my son-in-law.”#1Sm 18:20
22Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king’s son-in-law.’”
23Saul’s servants reported these words directly to David, but he replied, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law? I am a poor commoner.”#Gn 29:20; 34:12
24The servants reported back to Saul, “These are the words David spoke.”
25Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price#Gn 34:12; Ex 22:17 except a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’”#1Sm 14:24 Actually, Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.#1Sm 18:17
26When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived, 27David and his men went out and killed two hundred#18:27 LXX reads 100 Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife.#2Sm 3:14 28Saul realized#18:28 Lit saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him, 29and he became even more afraid of David. As a result, Saul was David’s enemy from then on.
30Every time the Philistine commanders came out to fight,#2Sm 11:1 David was more successful than all of Saul’s officers.#1Sm 18:5 So his name became well known.
Currently Selected:
1 Samuel 18: CSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
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