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1 Samuel 18
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
1 Samuel 18
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
18 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
2 And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father's house.
3 And David and Jonathan made a covenant, for be loved him as his own soul.
4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the coat with which he was clothed, and gave it to David, and the rest of his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
5 And David went out to whatsoever business Saul sent him, and he behaved himself prudently: and Saul set him over the soldiers, and he was acceptable in the eyes of all the people, and especially in the eyes of Saul's servants.
6 Now when David returned, after be slew the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels of joy, and cornets.
7 And the women sung as they played, and they said: I Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
8 And Saul was exceeding angry, and this word was displeasing in his eyes, and he said: They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given but a thousand; what can he have more but the kingdom?
9 And Saul did not look on David with a good eye from that day and forward.
10 And the day after the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of his house. And David played with his hand as at other times. And Saul held a spear in his hand,
11 And threw it, thinking to nail David to the wall: and David stept aside out of his presence twice.
12 And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from himself.
13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him a captain over a thousand men, and he went out and came in before the people.
14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.
15 And Saul saw that he was exceeding prudent, and began to beware of him.
16 But all Israel and Juda loved David, for he came in and went out before them.
17 And Saul said to David: Behold my elder daughter Merob, her will I give thee to wife: only be a valiant man, and fight the battles of the Lord. Now Saul said within himself: Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hands of the Philistines be upon him.
18 And David said to Saul: Who am I, or what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law of the king?
19 And it came to pass at the time when Merob the daughter of Saul should have been given to David, that she was given to Hadriel the Molathite to wife.
20 But Michol the other daughter of Saul loved David. And it was told Saul, and it pleased him.
21 And Saul said: I will give her to him, that she may be a stumblingblock to him, and that the band of the Philistines may be upon him. And Saul said to David: In two things thou shalt be my son in law this day.
22 And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately, saying: Behold thou pleasest the king, and all his servants love thee. Now therefore be the king's son in law.
23 And the servants of Saul spoke all these words in the ears of David. And David said: Doth it seem to you a small matter to be the king's son in law? But I am a poor man, and of small ability.
24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying: Such words as these hath David spoken.
25 And Saul said: Speak thus to David: The king desireth not any dowry, but only a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to deliver David into the hands of the Philistines.
26 And when his servants had told David the words that Saul had said, the word was pleasing in the eyes of David to be the king's son in law.
27 And after a few days David rose up, and went with the men that were under him, and he slew of the Philistines two hundred men, and brought their foreskins and numbered them out to the king, that he might be his son in law. Saul therefore gave him Michol his daughter to wife.
28 And Saul saw, and understood that the Lord was with David. And Michol the daughter of Saul loved him.
29 And Saul began to fear David more: and Saul became David's enemy continually.
30 And the princes of the Philistines went forth: and from the beginning of their going forth, David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, and his name became very famous.
1 Samuel 18
Expanded Bible
1 Samuel 18
Expanded Bible
Saul Fears David
18 When David finished talking with Saul, ·Jonathan felt very close to David [L the life/soul of Jonathan was knit/bound to the life/soul of David]. He loved David as much as ·he loved himself [L his own life/soul]. 2 Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him go home to his father’s house. 3 Jonathan made an ·agreement [covenant; solemn pact; treaty] with David, because he loved David as much as ·himself [L his own life/soul]. 4 He took off his ·coat [robe; C perhaps a royal robe] and gave it to David, along with his ·armor [tunic], including his sword, bow, and belt [C an expression of loyalty to David and perhaps even giving him the future kingship].
5 [L Wherever] Saul sent David ·to fight in different battles, and David [out, he] was very successful. Then Saul put David ·over [in command of] the soldiers, which pleased Saul’s ·officers [servants] and all the other people.
6 After David had ·killed [L struck] the Philistine, he and the men returned home. Women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul. They sang songs of joy, danced, and played tambourines and ·stringed [musical] instruments. 7 As they played, they sang,
“Saul has ·killed thousands of his enemies [T slain his thousands],
·but [and] David has ·killed [T slain his] tens of thousands.”
8 The women’s ·song upset [refrain/saying displeased/L was evil in the eyes/sight of] Saul, and he became very angry. He thought, “The women ·say David has killed [credit/ascribe to David] tens of thousands, but they ·say I have killed [credit/ascribe to me] only thousands. The only thing left for him to have is the kingdom!” 9 So Saul watched David closely from then on, because he was jealous.
10 The next day an ·evil [tormenting] spirit from God ·rushed upon [overwhelmed; seized; possessed] Saul, and he ·prophesied [or raved madly] in his house. David was playing the harp as he usually did, but Saul had a spear in his hand. 11 Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David ·escaped from [eluded] him twice.
12 The Lord was with David but had ·left [departed/withdrawn/turned away from] Saul. So Saul was afraid of David. 13 He sent David away and made him commander of a thousand soldiers. So David led them ·in battle [L out and back in]. 14 He ·had great success [prospered] in everything he did because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw that David ·was very successful [greatly prospered], he ·feared [dreaded; was in awe of] David even more. 16 But all the people of Israel and Judah loved David because he led them ·well in battle [L out and back in].
Saul’s Daughter Marries David
17 Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will ·let you marry her [L give her to you as a wife]. ·All I ask is that you remain [or But first you must show yourself] brave [L for me] and fight the Lord’s battles.” Saul thought, “I won’t ·have to kill David [L raise a hand against him]. The Philistines will do that.”
18 But David answered Saul, saying, “Who am I? ·My family is not important enough [What is my father’s family in Israel…?] for me to become the king’s son-in-law.” 19 So, when the time ·came [should have come] for Saul’s daughter Merab to marry David, Saul gave her instead to Adriel of Meholah [L as a wife].
20 Now Saul’s other daughter, Michal, loved David. When they told Saul, ·he was pleased [L the matter was right in his eyes]. 21 He thought, “I will ·let her marry [L give her to] David. ·Then […so that] she will be a ·trap [snare] for him, and the ·Philistines will defeat him [L hand of the Philistines will be against him].” So Saul said to David ·a second time, “You may [You have a second chance to] become my son-in-law.”
22 And Saul ordered his servants to talk with David ·in private [secretly] and say, “Look, the king ·likes [is delighted with] you. His servants love you. You should ·be [become] his son-in-law.”
23 Saul’s servants said these words ·to [L in the ears of] David, but David answered, “Do you think it is ·easy [L a small/trivial thing] to become the king’s son-in-law? I am poor and ·unimportant [have no position/reputation; C David cannot afford to pay the expected dowry].”
24 When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul said, “Tell David, ‘The king doesn’t want ·money [L a dowry/bride price] for the bride. All he wants is a hundred Philistine foreskins to get ·even with [revenge on] his enemies.’” Saul planned to let ·the Philistines kill David [L David fall at the hands of the Philistines].
26 When Saul’s servants told this to David, ·he was pleased [he was happy/delighted; L the thing was right in the eyes of David] to become the king’s son-in-law. [L So before the days were expired/fulfilled…] 27 He and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. David brought all their foreskins [L and counted them out] to ·Saul [the king] so he could be the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. 28 Saul ·saw [realized; L saw and knew] that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David. 29 So he grew even more afraid of David, and he was David’s enemy ·all his life [from then on; L all the days].
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to fight the Israelites, but every time, David was more ·skillful [successful; wise] than Saul’s officers. So he became ·famous [highly esteemed; L his name became extremely valuable].
1 Samuel 18
Contemporary English Version
1 Samuel 18
Contemporary English Version
18 David and Saul finished talking, and soon David and Jonathan[a] became best friends. Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself. 2 From that time on, Saul kept David in his service and would not let David go back to his own family.
3 Jonathan liked David so much that they promised to always be loyal friends. 4 Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David. He also gave him his military clothes,[b] his sword, his bow and arrows, and his belt.
5 David was a success in everything that Saul sent him to do, and Saul made him a high officer in his army. That pleased everyone, including Saul's other officers.
Saul Becomes David's Enemy
6 David had killed Goliath, the battle was over, and the Israelite army set out for home. As the army went along, women came out of each Israelite town to welcome King Saul. They were celebrating by singing songs and dancing to the music of tambourines and harps. 7 (A) They sang:
Saul has killed
a thousand enemies;
David has killed
ten thousand!
8 This song made Saul very angry, and he thought, “They are saying that David has killed ten times more enemies than I ever did. Next they will want to make him king.” 9 Saul never again trusted David.
10 The next day the Lord let an evil spirit take control of Saul, and he began acting like a crazy man inside his house. David came to play the harp for Saul as usual, but this time Saul had a spear in his hand. 11 Saul thought, “I'll pin David to the wall.” He threw the spear at David twice, but David dodged and got away both times.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was helping David and was no longer helping him. 13 Saul put David in charge of 1,000 soldiers and sent him out to fight. 14 The Lord helped David, and he and his soldiers always won their battles. 15 This made Saul even more afraid of David. 16 But everyone else in Judah and Israel was loyal to[c] David, because he led the army in battle.
17 One day, Saul told David, “If you'll be brave and fight the Lord's battles for me, I'll let you marry my oldest daughter Merab.” But Saul was really thinking, “I don't want to kill David myself, so I'll let the Philistines do it for me.”
18 David answered, “How could I possibly marry your daughter? I'm not very important, and neither is my family.”
19 But when the time came for David to marry Saul's daughter Merab, Saul told her to marry Adriel from the town of Meholah.
20 Saul had another daughter. Her name was Michal, and Saul found out that she was in love with David. This made Saul happy, 21 and he thought, “I'll tell David he can marry Michal, but I'll set it up so that the Philistines will kill him.” He told David, “I'm going to give you a second chance to marry one of my daughters.”
22-23 Saul ordered his officials to speak to David in private, so they went to David and said, “Look, the king likes you, and all of his officials are loyal to you. Why not ask the king if you can marry his daughter Michal?”
“I'm not rich[d] or famous enough to marry princess Michal!” David answered.
24 The officials went back to Saul and told him exactly what David had said. 25 Saul was hoping that the Philistines would kill David, and he told his officials to tell David, “The king doesn't want any silver or gold. He only wants to get even with his enemies. All you have to do is to bring back proof that you have killed 100 Philistines!”[e] 26 The officials told David, and David wanted to marry the princess.
King Saul had set a time limit, and before it ran out, 27 David and his men left and killed 200 Philistines. David brought back the proof that Saul had demanded and showed it to him, so he could marry Michal. Saul agreed to let David marry Michal. 28 King Saul knew that she loved David,[f] and he also realized that the Lord was helping David. 29 But knowing those things made Saul even more afraid of David, and he was David's enemy for the rest of his life.
30 The Philistine rulers kept coming to fight Israel, but whenever David fought them, he won. He was famous because he won more battles against the Philistines than any of Saul's other officers.
Footnotes
- 18.1 Jonathan: Saul's oldest son (see chapter 14).
- 18.4 military clothes: Or “armor.”
- 18.16 was loyal to: Or “loved.”
- 18.22,23 not rich: It was the custom for a man to give the bride's father some silver or gold in order to marry his daughter, and it would take a large amount to marry the daughter of the king.
- 18.25 proof … Philistines: Hebrew “100 Philistine foreskins.” In ancient times soldiers would sometimes cut off body parts of their dead enemies to prove how many they had killed.
- 18.28 she … David: Hebrew; one ancient translation “all Israel was loyal to David.”
1 Samuel 18
New International Version
1 Samuel 18
New International Version
Saul’s Growing Fear of David
18 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan(A) became one in spirit with David, and he loved(B) him as himself.(C) 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant(D) with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe(E) he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.(F)
5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful(G) that Saul gave him a high rank in the army.(H) This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing,(I) with joyful songs and with timbrels(J) and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang:(K)
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens(L) of thousands.”
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?(M)” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close(N) eye on David.
10 The next day an evil[a] spirit(O) from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre,(P) as he usually(Q) did. Saul had a spear(R) in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself,(S) “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded(T) him twice.(U)
12 Saul was afraid(V) of David, because the Lord(W) was with(X) David but had departed from(Y) Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led(Z) the troops in their campaigns.(AA) 14 In everything he did he had great success,(AB) because the Lord was with(AC) him. 15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.(AD)
17 Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter(AE) Merab. I will give her to you in marriage;(AF) only serve me bravely and fight the battles(AG) of the Lord.” For Saul said to himself,(AH) “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”
18 But David said to Saul, “Who am I,(AI) and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?(AJ)” 19 So[b] when the time came for Merab,(AK) Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.(AL)
20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal(AM) was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased.(AN) 21 “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare(AO) to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”
22 Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’”
23 They repeated these words to David. But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law?(AP) I’m only a poor man and little known.”
24 When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price(AQ) for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge(AR) on his enemies.’” Saul’s plan(AS) was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal(AT) in marriage.
28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal(AU) loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid(AV) of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success(AW) than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 18:10 Or a harmful
- 1 Samuel 18:19 Or However,
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
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Expanded Bible (EXB)
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Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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