^6:20When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house,³² Michal, Saul’s daughter, came out to meet him.³³ She said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished³⁴ himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants’ slave girls the way a vulgar fool³⁵ might do!”

^6:21David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family³⁶ and appointed me as leader over the Lord’s people Israel. ^6:22I am willing to shame and humiliate myself even more than this!³⁷ But with the slave girls whom you mentioned let me be distinguished!” ^6:23Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, had no children to the day of her death.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

32 Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”
33 Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
34 Heb “honored.”
35 Heb “one of the foolish ones.”
36 Heb “all his house”; “anyone else in your family.”
37 Heb “and I will shame myself still more than this and I will be lowly in my eyes.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When David returned home to bless his household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”

David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. I will dance before the Lord, and I will dishonor myself and humble myself even more. However, by the slave girls you spoke about, I will be honored.” And Saul’s daughter Michal had no child to the day of her death.

NLTNew Living Translation

When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”

David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!” So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

When David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David. She said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today by uncovering himself before the eyes of the maids of his servants, as the total exposure of a worthless one.” So David said to Michal, “In the presence of Yahweh who chose me over your father and over his household, to appoint me as leader over the people of Yahweh, over Israel, I have celebrated before Yahweh. I will demean myself again more than this, and I will be abased in my eyes, but with the maids whom you mentioned, with them I will be honored.” So for Michal the daughter of Saul, she had no child until the day of her death.

KJV 1900King James Version

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

Public Domain