1 Samuel 18
1 And it cometh to pass, when he finisheth to speak unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan hath been bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loveth 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 taketh him on that day, and hath not permitted him to turn back 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 maketh — also David — a covenant, because he loveth him as his own soul,
Jonathan made a solemn agreement with David because he loved him as he loved himself.
4 and Jonathan strippeth himself of the upper robe which [is] upon him, and giveth it to David, and his long robe, even unto his sword, and unto his bow, and unto 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 goeth out whithersoever Saul doth send him; he acted wisely, and Saul setteth 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 cometh to pass, in their coming in, in David's returning from smiting the Philistine, that the women come out from all the cities of Israel to sing — also the dancers — to meet Saul the king, with tabrets, 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 hath smitten 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 displeasing to Saul exceedingly, and this thing is evil in his eyes, and he saith, 'They have given to David myriads, and to me they have given the thousands, and more to him [is] only 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 thenceforth.
From that time on Saul viewed David with suspicion.
10 And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that the spirit of sadness [from] God prospereth over Saul, and he prophesieth in the midst of the house, and David is playing with his hand, as 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 casteth the javelin, and saith, 'I smite through David, even through the wall;' and David turneth round 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 Jehovah hath been with him, and from Saul He hath turned aside;
Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David, but he had given up on Saul.
13 and Saul turneth him aside from him, and appointeth him to himself head of a thousand, and he goeth out an cometh 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 in all his ways acting wisely, and Jehovah [is] with him,
David was very successful in everything he did, because the Lord was with him.
15 and Saul seeth 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 saith unto David, 'Lo, my elder daughter Merab — her I give to thee for a wife; only, be to me for a son of valour, and fight the battles of Jehovah;' and Saul said, 'Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon 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 saith unto Saul, 'Who [am] I? and what my life — the family of my father in Israel — that I am son-in-law to 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 cometh to pass, at the time of the giving of Merab daughter of Saul to David, that she hath 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 loveth David, and they declare 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 saith, 'I give her to him, and she is to him for a snare, and the hand of the Philistines is on him;' and Saul saith unto David, 'By the second — thou dost become my son-in-law to-day.'
“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 commandeth his servants, 'Speak unto David gently, saying, Lo, the king hath delighted in thee, and all his servants have loved thee, and now, be son-in-law to 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 in the ears of David these words, and David saith, 'Is it a light thing in your eyes to be son-in-law to 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 to him, saying, 'According to these words hath David spoken.'
When Saul's servants explained to him what David had said,
25 And Saul saith, 'Thus do ye say to David, There is no delight to the king in dowry, but in a 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 to David these words, and the thing is right in the eyes of David, to be son-in-law to 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 riseth and goeth, he and his men, and smiteth among the Philistines two hundred men, and David bringeth in their foreskins, and they set them before the king, to be son-in-law to the king; and Saul giveth to him Michal his daughter 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 seeth and knoweth that Jehovah [is] with David, and Michal daughter of Saul hath loved him,
Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal was in love with David,
29 and Saul addeth to be afraid of the presence of David yet; and Saul is an enemy with David 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 cometh to pass from the time of their coming out, David hath 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.
