1 Samuel 18–26

Chapter 18

¹And it came to pass, when he had ended speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ²And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father’s house. ³And Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his dress, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. ⁵And David went forth; whithersoever Saul sent him he prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tambours, with joy, and with triangles. ⁷And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath smitten his thousands, And David his ten thousands. ⁸And Saul was very wroth, and that saying was evil in his sight; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed the thousands; and what is there more for him but the kingdom? ⁹And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. ¹⁰And it came to pass the next day that an evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house, but David played with his hand, as on other days; and the spear was in Saul’s hand. ¹¹And Saul cast the spear, and thought, I will smite David and the wall. But David turned away from him twice.

¹²And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and had departed from Saul. ¹³And Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴And David prospered in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him. ¹⁵And Saul saw that he prospered well, and he stood in awe of him. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. ¹⁷And Saul said to David, Behold my eldest daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife; only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah’s battles. But Saul thought, My hand shall not be upon him, but the hand of the Philistines shall be upon him. ¹⁸And David said to Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? ¹⁹And it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife. ²⁰And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing was right in his sight. ²¹And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be upon him. And Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time. ²²And Saul commanded his servants, Speak with David secretly, saying, Behold, the king has delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king’s son-in-law. ²³And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, Is it a light thing in your eyes to be the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? ²⁴And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner did David speak. ²⁵And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David: The king does not desire any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶And his servants told David these words; and the thing was right in David’s sight to be the king’s son-in-law. And the days were not expired, ²⁷when David arose and went, he and his men, and smote of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they delivered them in full to the king, that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife. ²⁸And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was with David; and Michal Saul’s daughter loved him. ²⁹And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David’s enemy continually. ³⁰And the princes of the Philistines went forth; and it came to pass, whenever they went forth, that David succeeded better than all the servants of Saul; and his name was much esteemed.

Chapter 19

¹And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. ²But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeks to kill thee; and now, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place and hide thyself; ³and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and will speak of thee with my father: and see what it is, and tell thee. ⁴And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against thee; for also what he did was very advantageous to thee; ⁵for he put his life in hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou didst see it, and didst rejoice; why then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, in slaying David without cause? ⁶And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, As Jehovah liveth, he shall not be put to death! ⁷Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan declared to him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as previously.

⁸And there was war again; and David went forth and fought with the Philistines, and smote them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him. ⁹And an evil spirit from Jehovah was upon Saul. And he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David played with his hand. ¹⁰And Saul sought to smite David and the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall. And David fled, and escaped that night.

¹¹And Saul sent messengers to David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning; and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be put to death. ¹²And Michal let David down through a window; and he went, and fled and escaped. ¹³And Michal took the image, and laid it in the bed, and put the net of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with the coverlet. ¹⁴And Saul sent messengers to take David, and she said, He is sick. ¹⁵And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may put him to death. ¹⁶And the messengers came in, and behold, the image was in the bed, and the net of goats’ hair at its head. ¹⁷Then Saul said to Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal said to Saul, He said to me, Let me go; why should I slay thee?

¹⁸And David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. ¹⁹And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth by Ramah. ²⁰Then Saul sent messengers to take David; and they saw a company of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as president over them; and the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹And it was told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²²Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Sechu; and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, at Naioth by Ramah. ²³And he went thither to Naioth by Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth by Ramah. ²⁴And he himself also stripped off his clothes, and prophesied, himself also, before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

Chapter 20

¹And David fled from Naioth by Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity, and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeks my life? ²And he said to him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, and not apprise me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. ³And David swore again and again, and said, Thy father certainly knows that I have found favour in thy sight: and he has thought, Jonathan shall not know this, lest he be grieved; but truly as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. ⁴And Jonathan said to David, What thy soul may say, I will even do it for thee. ⁵And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶If thy father should actually miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. ⁷If he say thus, It is well, —thy servant shall have peace; but if he be very wroth, be sure that evil is determined by him. ⁸Deal kindly then with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee; but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?

⁹And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for, if I knew with certainty that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, would I not tell it thee? ¹⁰Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly? ¹¹And Jonathan said to David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. ¹²And Jonathan said to David, Jehovah, God of Israel, when I sound my father about this time to-morrow, or the next day, and behold, there be good toward David, and I then send not to thee, and…