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.
And it happened that, when he had completed speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan adhered to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him like his own soul.
2 From that day, Saul kept David with him, and did not let him return home.
And Saul took him that day, and would not permit him to return to his father’s house.
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].
Then David and Jonathan formed a pact. For he loved him like his own soul.
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.
And Jonathan took off the coat that he was wearing, and he gave it to David, with the rest of his garments, even to his sword and bow, and even 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.
Also, David went out to do everything whatsoever that Saul sent him to do, and he conducted himself prudently. And Saul set him over men of war. And he was acceptable in the eyes of the entire people, and most of all in the sight of the servants of Saul.
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.
Now when David returned, after he had struck down the Philistine, the women went out, from all the cities of Israel, leading the singing and dancing, rejoicing with timbrels and bells, so as to meet king Saul.
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].”
And the women sang, as they played, saying, “Saul has struck down a thousand, and David ten thousand.”
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]
Then Saul became exceedingly angry, and this word was displeasing in his eyes. And he said: “They have given David ten thousand, and to me they gave only one thousand. What is left for him, except the kingdom itself?”
9 From that time, Saul watched David very closely because he was suspicious [that David would try to become king].
Therefore, Saul did not regard David with a good eye, from that day and thereafter.
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,
Then, on the next day, the evil spirit from God assailed Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of his house. And David played with his hand, just as at every other time. And Saul held a lance in his hand.
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, thinking that he would be able to fix David to the wall. And David stepped aside twice, from before his face.
12 Because [it became evident that] Yahweh had abandoned Saul but [that] he was helping David, Saul was afraid of David.
And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, but he had withdrawn from 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],
Therefore, Saul sent him away from himself, and he made him tribune over one thousand men. And he entered and departed in the sight of the people.
14 he always had great success, because Yahweh was helping him.
Also, David acted prudently in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.
15 When Saul heard that David [and his soldiers were] very successful, he became more afraid of David.
And so, Saul saw that he was exceedingly prudent, and he began to be wary 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 all of Israel and Judah loved David. For he entered and departed before them.
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.”
And Saul said to David: “Behold, my elder daughter, Merab. I will give her to you as wife. Only be a valiant man, and fight the wars of the Lord.” Now Saul was considering within himself, saying, “Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hands of the Philistines be upon him.”
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]
Then David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life, and what is my father’s kinship within Israel, that I should be the son-in-law of the king?”
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].
Then it happened that, at the time when Merab, the daughter of Saul, was to be given to David, she was given to Adriel, the Meholathite, as wife.
20 But Saul’s other daughter, Michal, fell in love with David. When they told Saul about that, he was pleased.
Now Michal, the other daughter of Saul, loved David. And this was reported to Saul, and it pleased him.
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.
And Saul said, “I will give her to him, so that she may be a stumbling block to him, and so that the hand of the Philistines may be upon him.” And Saul said to David, “In two things, you shall be my son-in-law today.”
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.’”
And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately, saying: “Behold, you are pleasing to the king, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, be the son-in-law of the king.”
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.”
And the servants of Saul spoke all these words to the ears of David. And David said: “Does it seem a small matter to you, to be the son-in-law of the king? I am but a poor and unimportant man.”
24 When the servants told Saul what David had said,
And the servants reported to Saul, saying, “David has spoken words in this manner.”
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].
Then Saul said, “Speak in this way to David: The king does not have need of any dowry, but only one hundred foreskins from the Philistine men, so that he may be vindicated from the enemies of the king.” So did Saul think to deliver David into the hands of 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,
And when his servants had repeated to David the words that Saul had spoken, the word was pleasing in the eyes of David, so that he would become son-in-law of the king.
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.
And after a few days, David, rising up, went with the men who were under him, and he struck down two hundred men of the Philistines. And he brought their foreskins, and he counted them out for the king, so that he might be his son-in-law. And so, Saul gave to him his daughter Michal as wife.
28 But when Saul realized that Yahweh was helping David, and that his daughter loved David,
And Saul saw and understood that the Lord was with David. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, loved him.
29 he became more afraid of David. So, as long as Saul lived, he was David’s enemy.
And Saul began to fear David all the more. And Saul became the enemy of David, every day.
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.
And the leaders of the Philistines departed. And from the beginning of their departure, David conducted himself more prudently than all the servants of Saul, and his name became exceedingly celebrated.
