³² And David said to Saul, ^(A)“Let no man's heart fail because of him. ^(B)Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. ³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, ^(C)for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, ^(D)“The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, ^(E)and the Lord be with you!”

³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, ³⁹ and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, ^(F)with his shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ^(G)ruddy and handsome in appearance. ⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, “Am I ^(H)a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^(I)to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” ⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with ^(J)a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, ^(K)whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. ^(L)And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day ^(M)to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, ^(N)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this assembly may know that ^(O)the Lord saves not with sword and spear. ^(P)For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”

⁴⁸ When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine ^(Q)and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, ^(R)they fled. ⁵² And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath^[a] and the gates of ^(S)Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from ^(T)Shaaraim as far as ^(U)Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. ⁵⁴ And David took ^(V)the head of the Philistine ^(W)and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵ As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, ^(X)the commander of the army, “Abner, ^(Y)whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, ^(Z)“As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” ⁵⁶ And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” ⁵⁷ And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul ^(AA)with the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸ And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, ^(AB)“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

David and Jonathan's Friendship

18 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan ^(AC)loved him as his own soul. ² And Saul took him that day ^(AD)and would not let him return to his father's house. ³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because ^(AE)he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵ And David went out ^(AF)and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

Saul's Jealousy of David

⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, ^(AG)the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.^{[b] 7} And the women ^(AH)sang to one another as they celebrated,

⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but ^(AJ)the kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on.

¹⁰ The next day ^(AK)a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and ^(AL)he raved within his house while David was ^(AM)playing the lyre, as he did day by day. ^(AN)Saul had his spear in his hand. ¹¹ And Saul ^(AO)hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

^12 (AP)Saul was afraid of David because ^(AQ)the Lord was with him ^(AR)but had departed from Saul. ¹³ So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. ^(AS)And he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David ^(AT)had success in all his undertakings, ^(AU)for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ And when Saul saw that ^(AV)he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. ^16 (AW)But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is ^(AX)my elder daughter Merab. ^(AY)I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me ^(AZ)and fight the Lord's battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, ^(BA)but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” ¹⁸ And David said to Saul, ^(BB)“Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father's clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹ But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to ^(BC)Adriel the ^(BD)Meholathite for a wife.

²⁰ Now ^(BE)Saul's daughter Michal ^(BF)loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹ Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may ^(BG)be a snare for him ^(BH)and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time,^{[c] (BI)}“You shall now be my son-in-law.” ²² And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law.’” ²³ And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, ^(BJ)“Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” ²⁴ And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” ²⁵ Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no ^(BK)bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^(BL)that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.’” ^(BM)Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. ^(BN)Before the time had expired, ²⁷ David arose and went, ^(BO)along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. ^(BP)And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. ²⁸ But when Saul saw and knew that ^(BQ)the Lord was with David, ^(BR)and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, ²⁹ Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually.

^30 (BS)Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out ^(BT)David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

Saul Tries to Kill David

19 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. ^(BU)But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. ² And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” ⁴ And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king ^(BV)sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. ⁵ For ^(BW)he took his life in his hand ^(BX)and he struck down the Philistine, ^(BY)and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against ^(BZ)innocent blood by killing David without cause?” ⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, ^(CA)“As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷ And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence ^(CB)as before.

⁸ And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. ^9 (CC)Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. ^(CD)And David was playing the lyre. ^10 (CE)And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

^11 (CF)Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ^12 (CG)So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. ¹³ Michal took ^(CH)an image^[d] and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. ¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, ^(CI)the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. ¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. ^(CJ)Why should I kill you?’”

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. A ^(B)Miktam^[a] of David, ^(C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at ^(A)Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. ¹⁹ And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, ^(B)the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, ^(C)and they also prophesied. ²¹ When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, ^(D)and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, ^(E)and they also prophesied. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in ^(F)Ramah.” ²³ And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. ^(G)And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ^24 (H)And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, ^(I)“Is Saul also among the prophets?”