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 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.
2 And Saul taketh him on that day, and hath not permitted him to turn back to the house of his father.
From that day, Saul kept David with him, and did not let him return home.
3 And Jonathan maketh — also David — a covenant, because he loveth him as his own soul,
Because Jonathan loved David so much, he made a solemn agreement with David. [They promised each other that they would always be loyal friends].
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 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.
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 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.
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;
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.
7 and the women answer — those playing, and say, 'Saul hath smitten among his thousands, And David among his myriads.'
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].”
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;'
[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]
9 and Saul is eyeing David from that day and thenceforth.
From that time, Saul watched David very closely because he was suspicious [that David would try to become king].
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 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,
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 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].
12 And Saul is afraid of the presence of David, for Jehovah hath been with him, and from Saul He hath turned aside;
Because [it became evident that] Yahweh had abandoned Saul but [that] he was helping David, Saul was afraid of David.
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 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],
14 And David is in all his ways acting wisely, and Jehovah [is] with him,
he always had great success, because Yahweh was helping him.
15 and Saul seeth that he is acting very wisely, and is afraid of him,
When Saul heard that David [and his soldiers were] very successful, he became more afraid of David.
16 and all Israel and Judah love David when he is going out and coming in before them.
But all the people of Israel and of Judah loved David, because he led the soldiers very successfully [in the battles].
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 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.”
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 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]
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.
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].
20 And Michal daughter of Saul loveth David, and they declare to Saul, and the thing is right in his eyes,
But Saul’s other daughter, Michal, fell in love with David. When they told Saul about that, he was pleased.
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.'
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.
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 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.’”
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?'
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.”
24 And the servants of Saul declare to him, saying, 'According to these words hath David spoken.'
When the servants told Saul 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 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].
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 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,
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 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.
28 And Saul seeth and knoweth that Jehovah [is] with David, and Michal daughter of Saul hath loved him,
But when Saul realized that Yahweh was helping David, and that his daughter loved David,
29 and Saul addeth to be afraid of the presence of David yet; and Saul is an enemy with David all the days.
he became more afraid of David. So, as long as Saul lived, he was David’s enemy.
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.
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.
