1 Samuel 18
New English Translation
Saul Comes to Fear David
18 When David[a] had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship.[b] Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life.[c] 2 Saul retained David[d] on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house. 3 Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life.[e] 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear including his sword, his bow, and even his belt.
5 On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul’s servants.[f]
6 When the men[g] arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments.[h] 7 The women who were playing the music sang,
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands!”
8 This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought,[i] “They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?” 9 So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.
10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied[j] within his house. Now David was playing the lyre[k] as usual. There was a spear in Saul’s hand, 11 and Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll nail David to the wall!” But David escaped from him on two different occasions.
12 So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13 Saul removed David[l] from his presence and made him a commanding officer.[m] David led the army out to battle and back.[n] 14 Now David achieved success in all he did,[o] for the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back.
17 [p] Then Saul said to David, “Here’s my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior[q] for me and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul thought, “There’s no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!”
18 David said to Saul, “Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father[r] in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 19 When the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she instead was given in marriage to Adriel, who was from Meholah.
20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it[s] pleased him. 21 Saul said, “I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and so the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law.”[t]
22 Then Saul instructed his servants, “Tell David secretly, ‘The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king’s son-in-law.’” 23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words privately to[u] David. David replied, “Is becoming the king’s son-in-law something insignificant to you? I’m just a poor and lightly esteemed man!”
24 When Saul’s servants reported what David had said, 25 Saul replied, “Here is what you should say to David: ‘There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except 100 Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his[v] enemies.’” (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.)
26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed[w] to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired[x] 27 when David, along with his men, went out[y] and struck down 200 Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so that he could become the king’s son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized[z] that the Lord was with David and that his[aa] daughter Michal loved David,[ab] 29 Saul became even more afraid of him.[ac] Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on.[ad] 30 [ae] The leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants. His name was held in high esteem.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 18:1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 18:1 tn Heb “the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David.”
- 1 Samuel 18:1 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”sn On the nature of Jonathan’s love for David, see J. A. Thompson, “The Significance of the Verb Love in the David-Jonathan Narratives in 1 Samuel,” VT 24 (1974): 334-38.
- 1 Samuel 18:2 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 18:3 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”
- 1 Samuel 18:5 tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.”
- 1 Samuel 18:6 tn Heb “them.” The masculine plural pronoun apparently refers to the returning soldiers.
- 1 Samuel 18:6 tn Heb “with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments.”
- 1 Samuel 18:8 tn Heb “said.” So also in vv. 11, 17.
- 1 Samuel 18:10 tn Or “he raved.” This same construction appears in 1 Sam 10:10 “the spirit of God rushed upon him and then he prophesied in their midst.” It is important to consider the agent affecting Saul, the verb describing his actions, and the broader cultural background. The phrase רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים (ruakh ʾelohim) could mean “a divine wind/spirit,” “a spirit from God,” or “the spirit of God.” Unlike 1 Sam 10:10, this case involves a harmful, or evil, spirit. The range of meaning of רָעָה (raʿah) can mean either harm or evil, and here indicates that this spirit’s purpose is to afflict Saul. The verb וַיִּתְנַבֵּא (vayyitnabbeʾ) is a Hitpael of the root נָבָא (nabaʾ) which means “to prophesy” in both the Niphal and the Hitpael. The difference may well be that the Niphal refers primarily to acting as a spokesman, while the Hitpael reflects an accompanying ecstatic experience on the part of the prophet (cf. 1 Sam 10:6; 19:24). 1 Kgs 18:29 also describes the antics of the prophets of Baal with the Hitpael of the root נָבָא (nabaʾ). Ecstatic experiences or expressions were sometimes associated with prophecy in the broader West Semitic culture as well as in the Israel. Some translations focus on the presumed outward effects of the afflicting spirit on Saul and render the verb “he raged” or “he raved” (NASB, ESV, NLT, NRSV). Although most biblical references to Israel’s prophets do not involve ecstatic experiences, the original audience would probably not have made a distinction here, that is, “raving” and “prophesying” would not have been considered alternatives.
- 1 Samuel 18:10 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
- 1 Samuel 18:13 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 18:13 tn Heb “an officer of a thousand.”
- 1 Samuel 18:13 tn Heb “and he went out and came in before the people.” See v. 16.
- 1 Samuel 18:14 tn Heb “in all his ways.”
- 1 Samuel 18:17 tc Much of the ms evidence for the LXX lacks vv. 17-19.
- 1 Samuel 18:17 tn Heb “son of valor.”
- 1 Samuel 18:18 tn Heb “Who are my relatives, the clan of my father?” The term חַי (khay), traditionally understood as “my life,” is here a rare word meaning “family, kinfolk” (see HALOT 309 s.v. III חַי). The phrase “clan of my father” may be a scribal gloss explaining the referent of this rare word.
- 1 Samuel 18:20 tn Heb “the matter.”
- 1 Samuel 18:21 tc The final sentence of v. 21 is absent in most LXX mss.
- 1 Samuel 18:23 tn Heb “in the ears of.”
- 1 Samuel 18:25 tn Heb “the king’s.”
- 1 Samuel 18:26 tn Heb “and it was acceptable in the eyes of David.”
- 1 Samuel 18:26 tn Heb “the days were not fulfilled.”
- 1 Samuel 18:27 tn Heb “arose and went.”
- 1 Samuel 18:28 tn Heb “saw and knew.”
- 1 Samuel 18:28 tn Heb “Saul’s.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Samuel 18:28 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 18:29 tn Heb “of David.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Samuel 18:29 tc The final sentence of v. 29 is absent in most LXX mss.tn Heb “all the days.”
- 1 Samuel 18:30 tc Verse 30 is absent in most LXX mss.
撒母耳记上 18
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
约拿单与大卫成为挚友
18 大卫对扫罗说完了话，约拿单的心和大卫的心就深相契合。约拿单爱大卫如同爱自己的命。 2 从那天起，扫罗就把大卫留下来，不让他回到父家去。 3 约拿单与大卫立盟约，因为他爱大卫如同爱自己的命。 4 约拿单把自己身上的外袍脱下来给大卫，又把自己的战衣、刀、弓和腰带都给了他。
扫罗妒忌大卫
5 扫罗无论差派大卫到哪里去，他都去，并且凡事亨通。于是扫罗立他作军兵的将领。所有的人民和扫罗的臣仆都非常高兴。
6 大卫击杀了那非利士人，与众人一同回来的时候，妇女们从以色列各城里出来，唱歌、跳舞、打鼓、欢呼、击磬迎接扫罗王。 7 妇女们跳舞、歌唱，说：
“扫罗杀死千千！
大卫杀死万万！”
8 扫罗非常恼怒，不喜欢这话，就说：“他们给大卫万万，只给我千千，就只剩下王位没给他。” 9 从那天起，扫罗就妒忌大卫。
10 第二天，从 神那里来的恶鬼降在扫罗身上，他就在家中胡言乱语。大卫照常弹琴，扫罗手里拿着枪。 11 扫罗把枪掷过去，心里说：“我要把大卫刺在墙上。”大卫两次避开了他。 12 扫罗惧怕大卫，因为耶和华与大卫同在，却离开了扫罗。 13 因此扫罗使大卫离开自己，立他作千夫长，大卫就领导众民出入。 14 大卫所行的一切都亨通，因为耶和华与他同在。 15 扫罗看见大卫所行的十分亨通，就怕他。 16 但是所有的以色列人和犹大人都爱大卫，因为他领导他们出入。
大卫娶扫罗之女
17 扫罗对大卫说：“我的大女儿米拉在这里。我要把她赐给你作妻子；只要你作我的勇士，为耶和华争战。”原来扫罗心里说：“我不好亲手害他，让非利士人害他吧。” 18 大卫回答扫罗：“我是谁？我是甚么身分？我父家在以色列人中算得甚么？我怎么作王的女婿呢？” 19 到了扫罗的女儿米拉该嫁给大卫的时候，扫罗却把她给了米何拉人亚得列作妻子。
20 扫罗的女儿米甲爱大卫。有人把这事告诉扫罗，扫罗就欢喜， 21 心里想：“我要把米甲给大卫，利用米甲作他的陷阱，好让非利士人的手害他。”于是扫罗对大卫说：“你今天可以第二次作我的女婿。”
扫罗惧怕大卫
22 扫罗吩咐他的臣仆：“你们要私下对大卫说：‘王喜欢你，他的臣仆也都爱你，现在你要作王的女婿！’” 23 于是扫罗的臣仆把这些话说给大卫听。大卫说：“你们以为作王的女婿是一件小事吗？我是个贫穷卑微的人。” 24 扫罗的臣仆把大卫所说的这些话都报告了扫罗。 25 扫罗说：“你们要对大卫这样说：‘王不要甚么聘礼，只要一百个非利士人的包皮，好在王的仇敌身上报仇。’”扫罗企图使大卫死在非利士人的手里。 26 扫罗的臣仆把这些话告诉了大卫，大卫就乐意作王的女婿。在日期未满之时， 27 大卫和跟随他的人就起身出去，在非利士人中击杀了二百人，把他们的包皮带回来，满数交给王，要作王的女婿。于是扫罗把他的女儿米甲给大卫作妻子。 28 扫罗看见耶和华与大卫同在，又知道自己的女儿米甲也爱大卫， 29 就更怕大卫，常常与他为敌。
30 非利士人的领袖常常出征，每逢他们出征，大卫作事都比扫罗所有的臣仆所作的更亨通，所以他的名字极为人尊重。
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