1 Samuel 18
18
1David and Saul finished talking, and soon David and Jonathan#18.1 Jonathan: Saul's oldest son (see chapter 14). became best friends. Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself. 2From that time on, Saul kept David in his service and would not let David go back to his own family.
3Jonathan liked David so much that they promised to always be loyal friends. 4Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David. He also gave him his military clothes,#18.4 military clothes: Or “armor.” his sword, his bow and arrows, and his belt.
5David was a success in everything that Saul sent him to do, and Saul made him a high officer in his army. That pleased everyone, including Saul's other officers.
Saul Becomes David's Enemy
6David had killed Goliath, the battle was over, and the Israelite army set out for home. As the army went along, women came out of each Israelite town to welcome King Saul. They were celebrating by singing songs and dancing to the music of tambourines and harps. 7#1 S 21.11; 29.5. They sang:
Saul has killed
a thousand enemies;
David has killed
ten thousand!
8This song made Saul very angry, and he thought, “They are saying that David has killed ten times more enemies than I ever did. Next they will want to make him king.” 9Saul never again trusted David.
10The next day the Lord let an evil spirit take control of Saul, and he began acting like a crazy man inside his house. David came to play the harp for Saul as usual, but this time Saul had a spear in his hand. 11Saul thought, “I'll pin David to the wall.” He threw the spear at David twice, but David dodged and got away both times.
12Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was helping David and was no longer helping him. 13Saul put David in charge of 1,000 soldiers and sent him out to fight. 14The Lord helped David, and he and his soldiers always won their battles. 15This made Saul even more afraid of David. 16But everyone else in Judah and Israel was loyal to#18.16 was loyal to: Or “loved.” David, because he led the army in battle.
17One day, Saul told David, “If you'll be brave and fight the Lord's battles for me, I'll let you marry my oldest daughter Merab.” But Saul was really thinking, “I don't want to kill David myself, so I'll let the Philistines do it for me.”
18David answered, “How could I possibly marry your daughter? I'm not very important, and neither is my family.”
19But when the time came for David to marry Saul's daughter Merab, Saul told her to marry Adriel from the town of Meholah.
20Saul had another daughter. Her name was Michal, and Saul found out that she was in love with David. This made Saul happy, 21and he thought, “I'll tell David he can marry Michal, but I'll set it up so that the Philistines will kill him.” He told David, “I'm going to give you a second chance to marry one of my daughters.”
22-23Saul ordered his officials to speak to David in private, so they went to David and said, “Look, the king likes you, and all of his officials are loyal to you. Why not ask the king if you can marry his daughter Michal?”
“I'm not rich#18.22,23 not rich: It was the custom for a man to give the bride's father some silver or gold in order to marry his daughter, and it would take a large amount to marry the daughter of the king. or famous enough to marry princess Michal!” David answered.
24The officials went back to Saul and told him exactly what David had said. 25Saul was hoping that the Philistines would kill David, and he told his officials to tell David, “The king doesn't want any silver or gold. He only wants to get even with his enemies. All you have to do is to bring back proof that you have killed 100 Philistines!”#18.25 proof … Philistines: Hebrew “100 Philistine foreskins.” In ancient times soldiers would sometimes cut off body parts of their dead enemies to prove how many they had killed. 26The officials told David, and David wanted to marry the princess.
King Saul had set a time limit, and before it ran out, 27David and his men left and killed 200 Philistines. David brought back the proof that Saul had demanded and showed it to him, so he could marry Michal. Saul agreed to let David marry Michal. 28King Saul knew that she loved David,#18.28 she … David: Hebrew; one ancient translation “all Israel was loyal to David.” and he also realized that the Lord was helping David. 29But knowing those things made Saul even more afraid of David, and he was David's enemy for the rest of his life.
30The Philistine rulers kept coming to fight Israel, but whenever David fought them, he won. He was famous because he won more battles against the Philistines than any of Saul's other officers.
Currently Selected:
1 Samuel 18: CEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Shemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 18
18
1And it came to be, when he had ended speaking to Sha’ul, that the being of Yehonathan was knit to the being of Dawiḏ, and Yehonathan loved him as his own being.
2And Sha’ul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father’s house any more.
3And Yehonathan and Dawiḏ made a covenant, because he loved him as his own being.
4And Yehonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to Dawiḏ, and his garments, even to his sword and his bow and his girdle.
5And Dawiḏ went out wherever Sha’ul sent him. He acted wisely, and Sha’ul set him over the men of battle, and it was right in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of Sha’ul’s servants.
6And it came to be, as they came in, as Dawiḏ was returning from striking the Philistine, that the women came out from all the cities of Yisra’ĕl, singing and dancing, to meet Sha’ul the sovereign with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.
7And the women sang as they danced, and said, “Sha’ul struck his thousands, and Dawiḏ his ten thousands.”
8And Sha’ul was very wroth, and this matter was evil in his eyes, and he said, “To Dawiḏ they have given ten thousands, and to me they have given thousands. So what more for him, except the reign?”
9And from that day on Sha’ul eyed Dawiḏ.
10And it came to be on the next day that an evil spirit from Elohim came upon Sha’ul, and he prophesied inside the house, while Dawiḏ was playing the lyre with his hand, as usual. And the spear was in the hand of Sha’ul.
11Then Sha’ul hurled the spear, for he said, “Let me strike Dawiḏ, even to the wall.” But twice Dawiḏ withdrew from his presence.
12And Sha’ul was afraid of Dawiḏ, because יהוה was with him, but from Sha’ul He had turned away.
13Sha’ul therefore removed him from his presence, and made him his commander over a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.
14And Dawiḏ was acting wisely in all his ways, and יהוה was with him.
15And Sha’ul saw that he was acting very wisely, and was afraid of him.
16But all Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah loved Dawiḏ, as he went out and came in before them.
17And Sha’ul said to Dawiḏ, “See my older daughter Mĕraḇ! I give her to you as a wife. Only be brave for me, and fight the battles of יהוה.” For Sha’ul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
18And Dawiḏ said to Sha’ul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s clan in Yisra’ĕl, that I should be son-in-law to the sovereign?”
19And it came to be at the time when Mĕraḇ, Sha’ul’s daughter, should have been given to Dawiḏ, that she was given to Aḏri’ĕl the Meḥolathite as a wife.
20And Miḵal, Sha’ul’s daughter, loved Dawiḏ. And they told Sha’ul, and the matter was right in his eyes.
21And Sha’ul said, “Let me give her to him and let her be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines be against him.” So Sha’ul said to Dawiḏ a second time, “Become my son-in-law today.”
22And Sha’ul commanded his servants, “Speak to Dawiḏ gently, and say, ‘See, the sovereign has delighted in you, and all his servants have loved you. And now, be the sovereign’s son-in-law!’ ”
23And the servants of Sha’ul spoke those words in the hearing of Dawiḏ. And Dawiḏ said, “Does it seem to you a small matter to be a sovereign’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?”
24And the servants of Sha’ul told him, saying, “Dawiḏ has spoken according to these words.”
25And Sha’ul said, “Say to Dawiḏ, ‘The sovereign has no delight in any payment for the bride but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the sovereign’s enemies.’ ” But Sha’ul intended to have Dawiḏ fall by the hand of the Philistines.
26And his servants declared these words to Dawiḏ, and it pleased Dawiḏ well to become the sovereign’s son-in-law. And the days had not expired,
27and Dawiḏ arose and went, he and his men, and struck two hundred men of the Philistines. And Dawiḏ brought their foreskins, and they set them before the sovereign, to become the sovereign’s son-in-law. And Sha’ul gave him Miḵal his daughter as a wife.
28And Sha’ul saw and knew that יהוה was with Dawiḏ, and Miḵal daughter of Sha’ul did love him.
29So then Sha’ul was still more afraid of Dawiḏ. And Sha’ul came to be an enemy of Dawiḏ all the days.
30And the princes of the Philistines went out to fight. And it came to be, whenever they went out, that Dawiḏ acted more wisely than all the servants of Sha’ul, so that his name came to be very precious.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.