1 Samuel 18
18
David and Jonathan. 1By the time David finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan’s life became bound up with David’s life; he loved him as his very self.#1 Sm 19:1–7; 20:17; 23:16; 2 Sm 1:26; 9:1. 2Saul retained David on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.#1 Sm 16:21; 17:15. 3Jonathan and David made a covenant, because Jonathan loved him as his very self. 4Jonathan took off#Jonathan took off: with the details in this verse, the narrator identifies David as Jonathan’s replacement and Saul’s heir to the throne. Cf. 23:17 and Gn 41:39–43. the cloak he was wearing and handed it over to David, along with his military dress, even his sword, bow, and belt.#2 Sm 1:22. 5David then carried out successfully every mission on which Saul sent him. So Saul put him in charge of his soldiers; this met with the approval of the whole army, even Saul’s officers.
Saul’s Jealousy. 6At the approach of Saul and David, on David’s return after striking down the Philistine, women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet Saul the king, singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and stringed instruments.#Stringed instruments: perhaps a lute-like instrument with three strings; the Hebrew word, shalshim, perhaps related to the root shlsh (“three”), occurs only here in the Old Testament. #Ex 15:20–21; Jgs 11:34; Jdt 15:12. 7The women played and sang:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
David his tens of thousands.”#1 Sm 21:12; 29:5; Ps 91:7; Sir 47:6–7.
8Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: “They give David tens of thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship.” 9From that day on, Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
10#1 Sm 16:14; 19:9–10; 20:33; 22:6; 26:8. The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raged in his house. David was in attendance, playing the harp as at other times, while Saul was holding his spear. 11Saul poised the spear, thinking, “I will nail David to the wall!” But twice David escaped him. 12Saul then began to fear David because the Lord was with him but had turned away from Saul. 13Saul sent him out of his presence and appointed him a field officer. So David led the people on their military expeditions 14and prospered in all his ways, for the Lord was with him. 15Seeing how he prospered, Saul feared David. 16But all Israel and Judah loved David, since he led them on their expeditions.#Led them on their expeditions: lit., “go out and come in,” i.e., through the city gates; an idiom for military victory. #2 Sm 5:2.
Saul Plots Against David. 17Saul said to David, “Look, I will give you my older daughter, Merob, in marriage if you become my warrior and fight the battles of the Lord.” Saul thought, “I will not lay a hand on him. Let the hand of the Philistines strike him.”#1 Sm 14:49; 17:25. 18But David answered Saul: “Who am I? And who are my kindred or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 19But when the time came for Saul’s daughter Merob to be given to David, she was given as wife to Adriel the Meholathite instead.#1 Sm 21:8; 24:16.
20Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. When this was reported to Saul, he was pleased.#1 Sm 14:49; 25:44; 26:23; 2 Sm 3:13. 21He thought, “I will offer her to him as a trap, so that the hand of the Philistines may strike him.” So for the second time Saul said to David, “You shall become my son-in-law today.” 22Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David privately and say: The king favors you, and all his officers love you. You should become son-in-law to the king.” 23But when Saul’s servants mentioned this to David, he said: “Is becoming the king’s son-in-law a trivial matter in your eyes? I am poor and insignificant.” 24When his servants reported David’s answer to him, 25Saul commanded them, “Say this to David: The king desires no other price for the bride than the foreskins of one hundred Philistines, that he may thus take vengeance on his enemies.” Saul intended to have David fall into the hands of the Philistines.#1 Sm 17:26; Gn 34:12. 26When the servants reported this offer to David, he was pleased with the prospect of becoming the king’s son-in-law. Before the year was up, 27David arose and went with his men and slew two hundred Philistines. He brought back their foreskins and counted them out before the king that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal as wife. 28Then Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his own daughter Michal loved David. 29So Saul feared David all the more and was his enemy ever after.
30The Philistine chiefs continued to make forays, but each time they took the field, David was more successful against them than any of Saul’s other officers, and his name was held in great esteem.
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1 Samuel 18: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
1 Samuel 18
18
1 And it happened that, when he had completed speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan adhered to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him like his own soul.
2 And Saul took him that day, and would not permit him to return to his father's house.
3 Then David and Jonathan formed a pact. For he loved him like his own soul.
4 And Jonathan took off the coat that he was wearing, and he gave it to David, with the rest of his garments, even to his sword and bow, and even his belt.
5 Also, David went out to do everything whatsoever that Saul sent him to do, and he conducted himself prudently. And Saul set him over men of war. And he was acceptable in the eyes of the entire people, and most of all in the sight of the servants of Saul.
6 Now when David returned, after he had struck down the Philistine, the women went out, from all the cities of Israel, leading the singing and dancing, rejoicing with timbrels and bells, so as to meet king Saul.
7 And the women sang, as they played, saying, "Saul has struck down a thousand, and David ten thousand."
8 Then Saul became exceedingly angry, and this word was displeasing in his eyes. And he said: "They have given David ten thousand, and to me they gave only one thousand. What is left for him, except the kingdom itself?"
9 Therefore, Saul did not regard David with a good eye, from that day and thereafter.
10 Then, on the next day, the evil spirit from God assailed Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of his house. And David played with his hand, just as at every other time. And Saul held a lance in his hand.
11 And he threw it, thinking that he would be able to fix David to the wall. And David stepped aside twice, from before his face.
12 And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, but he had withdrawn from Saul.
13 Therefore, Saul sent him away from himself, and he made him tribune over one thousand men. And he entered and departed in the sight of the people.
14 Also, David acted prudently in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.
15 And so, Saul saw that he was exceedingly prudent, and he began to be wary of him.
16 But all of Israel and Judah loved David. For he entered and departed before them.
17 And Saul said to David: "Behold, my elder daughter, Merab. I will give her to you as wife. Only be a valiant man, and fight the wars of the Lord." Now Saul was considering within himself, saying, "Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hands of the Philistines be upon him."
18 Then David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my life, and what is my father's kinship within Israel, that I should be the son-in-law of the king?"
19 Then it happened that, at the time when Merab, the daughter of Saul, was to be given to David, she was given to Adriel, the Meholathite, as wife.
20 Now Michal, the other daughter of Saul, loved David. And this was reported to Saul, and it pleased him.
21 And Saul said, "I will give her to him, so that she may be a stumbling block to him, and so that the hand of the Philistines may be upon him." And Saul said to David, "In two things, you shall be my son-in-law today."
22 And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately, saying: "Behold, you are pleasing to the king, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, be the son-in-law of the king."
23 And the servants of Saul spoke all these words to the ears of David. And David said: "Does it seem a small matter to you, to be the son-in-law of the king? I am but a poor and unimportant man."
24 And the servants reported to Saul, saying, "David has spoken words in this manner."
25 Then Saul said, "Speak in this way to David: The king does not have need of any dowry, but only one hundred foreskins from the Philistine men, so that he may be vindicated from the enemies of the king." So did Saul think to deliver David into the hands of the Philistines.
26 And when his servants had repeated to David the words that Saul had spoken, the word was pleasing in the eyes of David, so that he would become son-in-law of the king.
27 And after a few days, David, rising up, went with the men who were under him, and he struck down two hundred men of the Philistines. And he brought their foreskins, and he counted them out for the king, so that he might be his son-in-law. And so, Saul gave to him his daughter Michal as wife.
28 And Saul saw and understood that the Lord was with David. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, loved him.
29 And Saul began to fear David all the more. And Saul became the enemy of David, every day.
30 And the leaders of the Philistines departed. And from the beginning of their departure, David conducted himself more prudently than all the servants of Saul, and his name became exceedingly celebrated.
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