1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18:1 When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan’s throay was bound to David’s throat, and he loved him as much as he loved his throat.

1 Samuel 18:2 Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him return to his father’s house.

1 Samuel 18:3 Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as much as his throat..

1 Samuel 18:4 Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

1 Samuel 18:5 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 slaves as well.

1 Samuel 18:6 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, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments.

1 Samuel 18:7 As they danced, the women sang: Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.

1 Samuel 18:8 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?”

1 Samuel 18:9 So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward.

1 Samuel 18:10 The next day an evil breath sent from God came powerfully on Saul, and he began to rave inside the palace. David was playing the lyre as usual, but Saul was holding a spear,

1 Samuel 18:11 and he threw it, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David got away from him twice.

1 Samuel 18:12 Saul was afraid of David, because Yahveh was with David but had left Saul.

1 Samuel 18:13 Therefore, Saul sent David away from him and made him commander over a thousand men. David led the troops

1 Samuel 18:14 and continued to be successful in all his activities because Yahveh was with him.

1 Samuel 18:15 When Saul observed that David was very successful, he dreaded him.

1 Samuel 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was leading their troops.

1 Samuel 18:17 Saul told David, “Notice my oldest daughter Merab. I’ll give her to you as a wife, if you will be a warrior for me and fight Yahveh’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I don’t need to raise a hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

1 Samuel 18:18 Then David responded, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?”

1 Samuel 18:19 When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

1 Samuel 18:20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David, and when it was reported to Saul, it pleased him.

1 Samuel 18:21 “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.” So Saul said to David a second time, “You can now be my son-in-law.”

1 Samuel 18:22 Saul then ordered his slaves, “Speak to David in private and tell him, Notice, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king’s son-in-law.'”

1 Samuel 18:23 Saul’s slaves 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.”

1 Samuel 18:24 The slaves reported back to Saul, “These are the words David spoke.”

1 Samuel 18:25 Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price except a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.'” Actually, Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.

1 Samuel 18:26 When the slaves reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,

1 Samuel 18:27 David and his men went out and killed two hundred 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.

1 Samuel 18:28 Saul realized that Yahveh was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him,

1 Samuel 18:29 and he became even more afraid of David. As a result, Saul was David’s enemy from then on.

1 Samuel 18:30 Every time the Philistine commanders came out to fight, David was more successful than all of Saul’s slaves. So his name became well known.