1 Samuel 18
18
1When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father's house. 3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his girdle. 5And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
6As they were coming home, when David returned from slaying the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with timbrels, with songs of joy, and with instruments#18.6 Or triangles, or three-stringed instruments of music. 7#1 Sam 21.11; 29.5. And the women sang to one another as they made merry,
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”
8And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him; he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; and what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9And Saul eyed David from that day on.
10And on the morrow an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; 11and Saul cast the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.
12Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 13So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14And David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lord was with him. 15And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. 16But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.
17Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you for a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.” 18And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my kinsfolk, my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” 19But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
20Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time,#18.21 Heb by two “You shall now be my son-in-law.” 22And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you; now then become the king's son-in-law.’ ” 23And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?” 24And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” 25Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.’ ” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that all Israel#18.28 Gk: Heb Michal, Saul's daughter loved him, 29Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually.
30Then the princes of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was highly esteemed.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
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.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com