³⁸ Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. ³⁹ David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. ⁴⁰ Instead, he took his staff in his hand^(A) and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him^(B) because he was just a youth, healthy^[a](C) and handsome. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog^(D) that you come against me with sticks?” ^[b] Then he cursed David by his gods.^{(E) 44} “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” ^(F)

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him.^{(G) 46} Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses^[c] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,^{(H) 47} and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves,^(I) for the battle is the Lord’s.^(J) He will hand you over to us.”

⁴⁸ When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.^{(K) 49} David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. ⁵⁰ David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. ⁵¹ David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword,^(L) pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.^{(M) 52} The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.^[d](N) Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road^(O) to Gath and Ekron.

⁵³ When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. ⁵⁴ David took Goliath’s^[e] head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

^55 [f] When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” ^(P)

“Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.

⁵⁶ The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”

⁵⁷ When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.^{(Q) 58} Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,”^(R) David answered.

David’s Success

18 When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan was bound to David in close friendship,^[a] and loved him as much as he loved himself.^{(A) 2} Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him return to his father’s house.

³ Jonathan made a covenant with David^(B) because he loved him as much as himself. ⁴ Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David,^(C) along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

⁵ David marched out with the army and was successful in everything Saul sent him to do. Saul put him in command of the fighting men, which pleased all the people and Saul’s servants as well.

⁶ As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,^(D) singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments. ⁷ As they danced, the women sang:

⁸ Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” ^{(F) 9} So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward.

Saul Attempts to Kill David

¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit sent from God came powerfully on Saul,^(G) and he began to rave^[b] inside the palace. David was playing the lyre as usual,^(H) but Saul was holding a spear,^{(I) 11} and he threw it, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall.”^(J) But David got away from him twice.

¹² Saul was afraid of David,^(K) because the Lord was with David^(L) but had left Saul.^{(M) 13} Therefore, Saul sent David away from him and made him commander over a thousand men. David led the troops^{(N) 14} and continued to be successful in all his activities because the Lord was with him.^{(O) 15} When Saul observed that David was very successful, he dreaded him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David^(P) because he was leading their troops. ¹⁷ Saul told David, “Here is my oldest daughter Merab. I’ll give her to you as a wife^(Q) if you will be a warrior for me and fight the Lord’s battles.”^(R) But Saul was thinking, “I don’t need to raise a hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”^(S)

¹⁸ Then David responded, “Who am I,^(T) and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” ¹⁹ When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.^(U)

David’s Marriage to Michal

²⁰ Now Saul’s daughter Michal^(V) loved David, and when it was reported to Saul, it pleased him. ²¹ “I’ll give her to him,” Saul thought. “She’ll be a trap for him, and the hand of the Philistines will be against him.”^(W) So Saul said to David a second time, “You can now be my son-in-law.”^(X)

²² Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king’s son-in-law.’”

²³ Saul’s servants reported these words directly to David, but he replied, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law? I am a poor commoner.”^(Y)

²⁴ The servants reported back to Saul, “These are the words David spoke.”

²⁵ Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price^(Z) except a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’”^(AA) Actually, Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.^(AB)

²⁶ When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived, ²⁷ David and his men went out and killed two hundred^[c] Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife.^{(AC) 28} Saul realized^[d] that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹ and he became even more afraid of David. As a result, Saul was David’s enemy from then on.

³⁰ Every time the Philistine commanders came out to fight,^(AD) David was more successful than all of Saul’s officers.^(AE) So his name became well known.