1 Samuel 17:55–18:5

⁵⁵ 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?”^s

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

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

⁵⁷When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.^{t 58}Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,”^u David answered.

DAVID’S SUCCESS

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

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

⁵David 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.