1 Samuel 18
1 After David finished talking with Saul, [he met Saul’s son, Jonathan.] Jonathan [immediately] liked David; in fact, he began to love/like him as much as he loved/liked himself.
After David finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan became great friends with David. He loved David as he loved himself.
2 From that day, Saul kept David with him, and did not let him return home.
From that time on Jonathan had David work for him and would not let him go back home.
3 Because Jonathan loved David so much, he made a solemn agreement with David. [They promised each other that they would always be loyal friends].
Jonathan made a solemn agreement with David because he loved him as he loved himself.
4 Jonathan took off his own outer robe and gave it to David. He also gave David his soldier’s tunic, his sword, his bow [and arrows], and his belt.
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 [David went wherever Saul sent him. And] whatever Saul told him to do, David did it very successfully. As a result, Saul appointed David to be a commander in the army. All the officers and other men in the army (approved of/were very pleased with) that.
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 But, when the men in the army were returning home after David had killed Goliath, the women came out from many [HYP] towns in Israel to meet/greet King Saul. They were singing and dancing very joyfully, playing tambourines and lyres.
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 As they danced, they sang this song to each other: “Saul has killed 1,000 [enemy soldiers], But David has killed 10,000 [of them].”
As they danced the women sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
8 [When] Saul [heard them singing that, he] did not like it. He became very angry. He said [to himself], “They are saying that David [killed] 10,000 men, but that I [have killed] only 1,000. Soon they will want to make him their king!” [RHQ]
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 From that time, Saul watched David very closely because he was suspicious [that David would try to become king].
From that time on Saul viewed David with suspicion.
10 The next day, an evil spirit sent by God suddenly took control of Saul. He began to act like a madman, inside his house. David was playing the lyre for him, as he did every day. Saul was holding a spear in his hand,
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 he hurled it [at David], saying to himself, “I will fasten David to the wall with the spear!” He did that two times, but David jumped aside [both times].
and he threw it at David, saying to himself, “I'll pin David to the wall.” But David managed to escape him twice.
12 Because [it became evident that] Yahweh had abandoned Saul but [that] he was helping David, Saul was afraid of David.
Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David, but he had given up on Saul.
13 So he appointed David as a commander of 1,000 soldiers and sent David away from him, [hoping that David would be killed in a battle]. But when David led his soldiers [in their battles],
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 he always had great success, because Yahweh was helping him.
David was very successful in everything he did, because the Lord was with him.
15 When Saul heard that David [and his soldiers were] very successful, he became more afraid of David.
When Saul saw how successful David was, he was even more afraid of him.
16 But all the people of Israel and of Judah loved David, because he led the soldiers very successfully [in the battles].
But everyone in Israel and Judah loved David, because of his leadership in the army.
17 One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my oldest daughter, Merab, to be your wife. I will do that if you serve me bravely by fighting battles for Yahweh [against the Philistines]”. He said that because he thought, “I will not try to get rid of David by myself. I will allow the Philistines to do that.”
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 But David said to Saul, “I am not [RHQ] a very important person, and my family is not very important, and my clan is not a very important Israeli clan. So I do not deserve to become your son-in-law.” [RHQ]
“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 So, when it was time for Merab to be given to David to become his wife, instead, Saul gave her to a man named Adriel, from Meholah [town].
However, when the time came to give Merab, Saul's daughter, to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah instead.
20 But Saul’s other daughter, Michal, fell in love with David. When they told Saul about that, he was pleased.
Meanwhile Saul's daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and when Saul was told, he was happy about it.
21 He thought, “I will let Michal marry him, in order that she may trap him, and the Philistines will be able to kill him.” So he said to David, [“You can marry Michal],” and by saying that, he indicated for the second time that David would become his son-in-law.
“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 Saul told his servants, “Talk to David privately, and say to him, ‘Listen, the king is pleased with you, and all of us his servants love you. So now [we think that] you should [marry Michal and] become the king’s son-in-law.’”
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 So they told that to David. But David said, “It would be a great honor [RHQ] to become the king’s son-in-law. But [I do not think that I should do that, because] I am only a poor and insignificant man.”
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 When the servants told Saul what David had said,
When Saul's servants explained to him what David had said,
25 Saul replied, “Go and say to David, ‘[In order for] the king [to allow you to marry Michal, he] wants [you to kill] 100 Philistines [and cut off] their foreskins [and bring the foreskins to him to prove that you have killed them]. In that way he will get revenge on his enemies.’” But what Saul wanted was that the Philistines would kill David [while David was trying to kill them].
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 When the servants told that to David, he was very pleased that he could become the king’s son-in-law [by doing that. The king had said how many days he would allow for David to do that]. But before that time ended,
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 David and his men went and killed, [not 100, but] 200 Philistines! He brought their foreskins to Saul, and counted them [while Saul was watching], in order to prove that he had [done what the king required so that he could become Saul’s son-in-law. So then Saul was obligated] to allow David to marry his daughter Michal.
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 But when Saul realized that Yahweh was helping David, and that his daughter loved David,
Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal was in love with David,
29 he became more afraid of David. So, as long as Saul lived, he was David’s enemy.
and so he became even more afraid of David, and was David's enemy for the rest of his life.
30 The Philistine armies repeatedly came to fight the Israelis, but every time they fought, David and his soldiers were more successful than any of Saul’s other army commanders. As a result, David became very famous.
Whenever the Philistine commanders attacked, David was more successful in battle than all of Saul's officers, so that his reputation grew rapidly.
