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.
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1 Samuel 18: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
1 Samuel 18
18
Saul Fears David
1When David finished talking with Saul, Jonathan felt very close to David. He loved David as much as he loved himself. 2Saul kept David with him from that day on. He did not let David go home to his father’s house. 3Jonathan made an agreement with David. He did this because he loved David as much as himself. 4He took off his coat and gave it to David. He also gave David his uniform, including his sword, bow and belt.
5Saul sent David to fight in different battles. And David was very successful. Then Saul put David over the soldiers. When he did this, Saul’s officers and all the other people were pleased.
6After David had killed the Philistine, he and the men returned home. Women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul. They sang songs of joy, danced and played tambourines and stringed instruments. 7As they played, they sang,
“Saul has killed thousands of his enemies.
But David has killed tens of thousands!”
8The women’s song upset Saul, and he became very angry. He thought, “The women say David has killed tens of thousands of enemies. But they say I killed only thousands of enemies. The only thing left for him to have is the kingdom!” 9So Saul watched David closely from then on. He was jealous of him.
10The next day an evil spirit from God entered Saul with power. And he prophesied in his house. David was playing the harp as he usually did. But Saul had a spear in his hand. 11He raised the spear and thought, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David got away from him two times.
12The Lord was with David but had left Saul. So Saul was afraid of David. 13He sent David away from him. He made David commander of 1,000 soldiers. So David led them in battle. 14He had great success in everything he did because the Lord was with him. 15Saul saw that David was very successful. And he became even more afraid of David. 16But all the people of Israel and Judah loved David. This was because he led them well in battle.
Saul’s Daughter and David
17Saul said to David, “You’re a brave soldier. And you fight the Lord’s battles. Here is my older daughter Merab. I will let you marry her.” Saul had decided, “I won’t have to kill David. The Philistines will do that!”
18But David said, “I am not good enough for this honor. And my family is not important enough for me to become the king’s son-in-law.” 19So when the time came for Saul’s daughter Merab to marry David, Saul gave her instead to Adriel of Meholah.
20Now Saul’s other daughter Michal loved David. When they told Saul about Michal loving David, he was pleased. 21He thought, “I will let Michal marry David. Then she will become a trap for him. And the Philistines will defeat him.” So Saul said to David a second time, “You may become my son-in-law.”
22And Saul gave an order to his servants. He told them, “Speak to David in private. Say, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you. His servants like you. You should become his son-in-law.’”
23Saul’s servants said these words to David. But David answered, “Do you think it is easy to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man. Nobody knows me.”
24Then Saul’s servants told him what David had said. 25Saul said, “Say to David, ‘The king doesn’t want you to pay a large price for the bride. All he wants is 100 Philistine foreskins. Then he will be even with his enemies.’” Saul planned to let the Philistines kill David.
26Saul’s servants told David these words. David was pleased that he could become the king’s son-in-law. 27So he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. David took all their foreskins and brought them to Saul. He wanted to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. 28Saul saw that the Lord was with David. He also saw that his daughter Michal loved David. 29So he became even more afraid of David. And he was David’s enemy all his life.
30The Philistine commanders continued to go out to fight the Israelites. But every time, David defeated them. He had more success than Saul’s officers. And he became famous.
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