1 Samuel 18
New American Standard Bible
Jonathan and David
18 Now it came about, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that [a](A)Jonathan committed himself to David, and (B)Jonathan loved him as himself. 2 And Saul took him that day and (C)did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then (D)Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 (E)Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his military gear, including his sword, his bow, and his belt. 5 And David went into battle wherever Saul sent him, and always [b]achieved success; so Saul put him in charge of the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
6 Now it happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that (F)the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with other [c]musical instruments. 7 The women (G)sang as they [d]played, and said,
8 Then Saul became very angry, for this lyric [e]displeased him; and he said, “They have given David credit for ten thousands, but to me they have given credit for only thousands! Now what more can he have but the (J)kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David with suspicion from that day on.
Saul Turns against David
10 Now it came about on the next day that (K)an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and (L)he raved in the midst of the house while David was playing the harp with his hand, [f](M)as usual; and [g](N)a spear was in Saul’s hand. 11 Then (O)Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will [h]pin David to the wall.” But David [i]escaped from his presence, twice.
12 Now (P)Saul was afraid of David, (Q)because the Lord was with him but (R)had left Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from [j]his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and (S)he went out and came in before the people. 14 David was [k]successful in all his ways, for (T)the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw that he was [l]very successful, he was afraid of him. 16 But (U)all Israel and Judah loved David, for he would go out to battle and [m]return [n]before them.
17 Then Saul said to David, “(V)Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight (W)the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but (X)let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 But David said to Saul, “(Y)Who am I, and who is my family, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” 19 So it came about at the time that Merab, Saul’s daughter, was to be given to David, that she was given instead to (Z)Adriel (AA)the Meholathite as a wife.
David Marries Saul’s Daughter
20 Now (AB)Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they informed Saul, the thing was pleasing [o]to him. 21 For Saul thought, “I will give her to him so that she may become a trap for him, and (AC)that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “(AD)For a second time you may become my son-in-law, today.” 22 Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in secret, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’” 23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words [p]to David. But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, (AE)since I am only a poor man and insignificant?” 24 Then Saul’s servants reported to him, saying, “[q]These are the words David spoke.” 25 Saul then said, “This is what you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any (AF)dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, (AG)to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” But (AH)Saul plotted to have David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 When his servants told David these words, [r]it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. So [s](AI)before the time had expired, 27 David set out and went, (AJ)he and his men, and fatally struck two hundred men among the Philistines. Then (AK)David brought their foreskins, and they presented all two hundred of them to the king, so that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife. 28 When Saul saw and realized that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 then Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.
30 Then the commanders of the Philistines (AL)went to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David (AM)was more [t]successful than all the servants of Saul. So his name was held in high esteem.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 18:1 Lit the soul of Jonathan was joined to the soul of
- 1 Samuel 18:5 Or acted wisely
- 1 Samuel 18:6 Possibly three-stringed lutes
- 1 Samuel 18:7 Or danced
- 1 Samuel 18:8 Lit was evil in his eyes
- 1 Samuel 18:10 Lit day by day
- 1 Samuel 18:10 Lit the
- 1 Samuel 18:11 Lit strike David and the wall
- 1 Samuel 18:11 Lit turned about
- 1 Samuel 18:13 Lit with him
- 1 Samuel 18:14 Or acting wisely
- 1 Samuel 18:15 Or acting very wisely
- 1 Samuel 18:16 Lit come in
- 1 Samuel 18:16 Or leading them
- 1 Samuel 18:20 Lit in his sight
- 1 Samuel 18:23 Lit in the ears of
- 1 Samuel 18:24 Lit According to these words David
- 1 Samuel 18:26 Lit the thing was pleasing in the sight of
- 1 Samuel 18:26 Lit the days were not fulfilled, and
- 1 Samuel 18:30 Or wise
1 Samuel 18
Living Bible
18 1-3 After King Saul had finished his conversation with David, David met Jonathan, the king’s son, and there was an immediate bond of love between them. Jonathan swore to be his blood brother, 4 and sealed the pact by giving him his robe, sword, bow, and belt.
King Saul now kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home anymore. 5 He was Saul’s special assistant, and he always carried out his assignments successfully. So Saul made him commander of his troops, an appointment that was applauded by the army and general public alike. 6 But something had happened when the victorious Israeli army was returning home after David had killed Goliath. Women came out from all the towns along the way to celebrate and to cheer for King Saul, and were singing and dancing for joy with tambourines and cymbals.
7 However, this was their song: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands!”
8 Of course Saul was very angry. “What’s this?” he said to himself. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!”
9 So from that time on King Saul kept a jealous watch on David. 10 The very next day, in fact, a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave like a madman. David began to soothe him by playing the harp, as he did whenever this happened. But Saul, who was fiddling with his spear, 11-12 suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David jumped aside and escaped. This happened another time, too, for Saul was afraid of him and jealous because the Lord had left him and was now with David. 13 Finally Saul banned him from his presence and demoted him to the rank of captain. But the controversy put David more than ever in the public eye.
14 David continued to succeed in everything he undertook, for the Lord was with him. 15-16 When King Saul saw this, he became even more afraid of him; but all Israel and Judah loved him, for he was as one of them.
17 One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my oldest daughter Merab as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real soldier by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought to himself, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”
18 “Who am I that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!”
19 But when the time arrived for the wedding, Saul married her to Adriel, a man from Meholath, instead. 20 In the meantime Saul’s daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it.
21 “Here’s another opportunity to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “You can be my son-in-law after all, for I will give you my youngest daughter.”
22 Then Saul instructed his men to say confidentially to David that the king really liked him a lot, and that they all loved him and thought he should accept the king’s proposition and become his son-in-law.
23 But David replied, “How can a poor man like me from an unknown family find enough dowry to marry the daughter of a king?”
24 When Saul’s men reported this back to him, 25 he told them, “Tell David that the only dowry I need is one hundred dead Philistines![a] Vengeance on my enemies is all I want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
26 David was delighted to accept the offer. So, before the time limit expired, 27 he and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines and presented their foreskins to King Saul. So Saul gave Michal to him.
28 When the king realized how much the Lord was with David and how immensely popular he was with all the people, 29 he became even more afraid of him and grew to hate him more with every passing day. 30 Whenever the Philistine army attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul’s officers. So David’s name became very famous throughout the land.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 18:25 one hundred dead Philistines, literally, “one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.