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.

Elihu Sharply Rebukes Job

35 Then Elihu continued and said,

The Woman, Israel

12 A great ^(A)sign appeared ^(B)in heaven: ^(C)a woman ^(D)clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; ² and she was pregnant and she *^(E)cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

The Red Dragon, Satan

³ Then ^(F)another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red ^(G)dragon having ^(H)seven heads and ^(I)ten horns, and on his heads were ^(J)seven crowns. ⁴ And his tail *swept away a ^(K)third of the stars of heaven and ^(L)hurled them to the earth. And the ^(M)dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth ^(N)he might devour her Child.

The Male Child, Christ

⁵ And ^(O)she gave birth to a Son, a male, who is going to ^[a](P)rule all the ^[b]nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was ^(Q)caught up to God and to His throne. ⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there ^[c]she would be nourished for ^(R)1,260 days.

The Angel, Michael

⁷ And there was war in heaven, ^(S)Michael and his angels waging war with the ^(T)dragon. The dragon and ^(U)his angels waged war, ⁸ and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. ⁹ And the great ^(V)dragon was thrown down, the ^(W)serpent of old who is called the devil and ^(X)Satan, who ^(Y)deceives the whole ^[d]world; he was ^(Z)thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ¹⁰ Then I heard ^(AA)a loud voice in heaven, saying,

“Now the ^(AB)salvation, and the power, and the ^(AC)kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the ^(AD)accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night. ¹¹ And they ^(AE)overcame him because of ^(AF)the blood of the Lamb and because of ^(AG)the word of their testimony, and they ^(AH)did not love their life even ^[e]when faced with death. ¹² For this reason, ^(AI)rejoice, you heavens and ^(AJ)you who dwell in them. ^(AK)Woe to the earth and the sea, because ^(AL)the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only ^(AM)a short time.”

¹³ And when the ^(AN)dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted ^(AO)the woman who gave birth to the male Child. ¹⁴ But the ^(AP)two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly ^(AQ)into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for ^(AR)a time, times, and half a time, away from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵ And the ^(AS)serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. ^16 [f]But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth. ¹⁷ So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to ^(AT)make war with the rest of her ^[g](AU)children, who ^(AV)keep the commandments of God and ^(AW)hold to the testimony of Jesus.