1 Samuel 18

Saul Resents David

18Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, ^athe ¹soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, ^band Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ²Saul took him that day, ^cand would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. ³Then Jonathan and David made a ^dcovenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

⁵So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and ²behaved wisely. 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. ⁶Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the ³Philistine, that ^ethe women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷So the women ^fsang as they danced, and said:

^g“Saul has slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands.”

⁸Then Saul was very angry, and the saying ^hdispleased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but ⁱthe kingdom?” ⁹So Saul ⁴eyed David from that day forward.

¹⁰And it happened on the next day that ^jthe distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, ^kand he prophesied inside the house. So David ^lplayed music with his hand, as at other times; ^mbut there was a spear in Saul’s hand. ¹¹And Saul ⁿcast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice.

¹²Now Saul was ^oafraid of David, because ^pthe Lord was with him, but had ^qdeparted from Saul. ¹³Therefore Saul removed him from ⁵his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and ^rhe went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and ^sthe Lord was with him. ¹⁵Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶But ^tall Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; ^uI will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight ^vthe Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, ^w“Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸So David said to Saul, ^x“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?” ¹⁹But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to ^yAdriel the ^zMeholathite as a wife.

^20aNow Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may ⁶be a snare to him, and that ^bthe hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, ^c“You shall be my son-in-law today.”

²²And Saul commanded his servants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

²³So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” ²⁴And the servants of Saul told him, saying, ⁷“In this manner David spoke.”

²⁵Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any ^ddowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take ^evengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul ^fthought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now ^gthe days had not expired; ²⁷therefore David arose and went, he and ^hhis men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And ⁱDavid brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.

²⁸Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; ²⁹and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy ⁸continually. ³⁰Then the princes of the Philistines ^jwent out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David ^kbehaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.