1 Samuel 18
1 And it comes to pass, when he finishes to speak to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan has been bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loves him as his own soul.
After David finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan became great friends with David. He loved David as he loved himself.
2 And Saul takes him on that day, and has not permitted him to return to the house of his father.
From that time on Jonathan had David work for him and would not let him go back home.
3 And Jonathan makes—David also—a covenant, because he loves him as his own soul,
Jonathan made a solemn agreement with David because he loved him as he loved himself.
4 and Jonathan strips himself of the upper robe which [is] on him, and gives it to David, and his long robe, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, together with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
5 And David goes out wherever Saul sends him; he acted wisely, and Saul sets him over the men of war, and it is good in the eyes of all the people, and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.
David was successful in doing everything Saul asked him to do, so Saul made him an officer in the army. This pleased everyone, including Saul's other officers.
6 And it comes to pass, in their coming in, in David’s returning from striking the Philistine, that the women come out from all the cities of Israel to sing—also the dancers—to meet Saul the king, with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments;
When the soldiers returned home after David had killed the Philistine, the women of all the towns of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul, happily celebrating with tambourines and musical instruments.
7 and the women answer—those playing, and say, “Saul has struck among his thousands, And David among his myriads.”
As they danced the women sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
8 And it is exceedingly displeasing to Saul, and this thing is evil in his eyes, and he says, “They have given myriads to David, and they have given the thousands to me, and what more [is there] for him but the kingdom?”
What they were singing made Saul very angry as he didn't think it was right. He said to himself, “They've given David credit for killing tens of thousands, but only thousands to me. All that's left is to give him the kingdom!”
9 And Saul is eyeing David from that day and from then on.
From that time on Saul viewed David with suspicion.
10 And it comes to pass, on the next day, that the spirit of sadness [from] God prospers over Saul, and he prophesies in the midst of the house, and David is playing with his hand, as [he did] day by day, and the javelin [is] in the hand of Saul,
The following day an evil spirit from God came on Saul with power, and he was ranting inside the house while David played the harp as he regularly did. Saul happened to be holding a spear,
11 and Saul casts the javelin and says, “I strike through David, even through the wall”; and David turns around out of his presence twice.
and he threw it at David, saying to himself, “I'll pin David to the wall.” But David managed to escape him twice.
12 And Saul is afraid of the presence of David, for YHWH has been with him, and He has turned aside from Saul;
Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David, but he had given up on Saul.
13 and Saul turns him aside from him, and appoints him to himself [for] head of one thousand, and he goes out and comes in, before the people.
So Saul sent David away and made him a commander of a thousand soldiers, leading them out and back as part of the army.
14 And David is acting wisely in all his ways, and YHWH [is] with him,
David was very successful in everything he did, because the Lord was with him.
15 and Saul sees that he is acting very wisely, and is afraid of him,
When Saul saw how successful David was, he was even more afraid of him.
16 and all Israel and Judah love David when he is going out and coming in before them.
But everyone in Israel and Judah loved David, because of his leadership in the army.
17 And Saul says to David, “Behold, my elder daughter Merab—I give her to you for a wife; only, be for a son of valor to me, and fight the battles of YHWH”; and Saul said, “Do not let my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him.”
One day Saul told David, “Here's my oldest daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage, but only if you prove to me you're a brave warrior and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul was thinking, “I don't need to be the one to kill him—let the Philistines do it!”
18 And David says to Saul, “Who [am] I? And what [is] my life—the family of my father in Israel—that I am son-in-law of the king?”
“But who am I, and what status does my family have in Israel, for me to become the son-in-law of the king?” David replied.
19 And it comes to pass, at the time of the giving of Merab daughter of Saul to David, that she has been given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
However, when the time came to give Merab, Saul's daughter, to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah instead.
20 And Michal daughter of Saul loves David, and they declare [it] to Saul, and the thing is right in his eyes,
Meanwhile Saul's daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and when Saul was told, he was happy about it.
21 and Saul says, “I give her to him, and she is for a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines is on him”; and Saul says to David, “By the second—you become my son-in-law today.”
“I'll give her to David,” Saul thought. “She can be the bait so the Philistines can trap him.” So Saul said to David, “This is the second time you can become my son-in-law.”
22 And Saul commands his servants, “Speak to David gently, saying, Behold, the king has delighted in you, and all his servants have loved you, and now, be son-in-law of the king.”
Saul gave these instructions to his servants, “Talk with David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is very happy with you, and all of us love you. Why not become the king's son-in-law?’”
23 And the servants of Saul speak these words in the ears of David, and David says, “Is it a light thing in your eyes to be son-in-law of the king—and I a poor man, and lightly esteemed?”
Saul's servants spoke privately to David, but he replied, “Do you think it's nothing to become the king's son-in-law? I'm a poor man, and I'm not important.”
24 And the servants of Saul declare [it] to him, saying, “David has spoken according to these words.”
When Saul's servants explained to him what David had said,
25 And Saul says, “Thus you say to David, There is no delight for the king in dowry, but in one hundred foreskins of the Philistines—to be avenged on the enemies of the king”; and Saul thought to cause David to fall by the hand of the Philistines.
Saul told them, “Tell David, ‘The only dowry the king wants for the bride is one hundred foreskins of dead Philistine as a way of taking revenge on his enemies.’” Saul's plan was to have David be killed by the Philistines.
26 And his servants declare these words to David, and the thing is right in the eyes of David, to be son-in-law of the king; and the days have not been full,
When the servants reported what the king had said back to David, he was happy to become the king's son-in-law. While there was still time,
27 and David rises and goes, he and his men, and strikes two hundred men among the Philistines, and David brings in their foreskins, and they set them before the king, to be son-in-law of the king; and Saul gives his daughter Michal to him for a wife.
David set off with his men and killed two hundred Philistines, and brought back their foreskins. They counted them all out before the king so that David could become the king's son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 And Saul sees and knows that YHWH [is] with David, and Michal daughter of Saul has loved him,
Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal was in love with David,
29 and Saul adds to be afraid of the presence of David still; and Saul is an enemy of David [for] all the days.
and so he became even more afraid of David, and was David's enemy for the rest of his life.
30 And the princes of the Philistines come out, and it comes to pass from the time of their coming out, David has acted more wisely than any of the servants of Saul, and his name is very precious.
Whenever the Philistine commanders attacked, David was more successful in battle than all of Saul's officers, so that his reputation grew rapidly.
