1 Samuel 18

¹ And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that theHis affection was fully bent toward him.soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

² And Saul tooke him that day, and woulde not let him returne to his fathers house.

³ Then Ionathan and Dauid made a couenant: for he loued him as his owne soule.

⁴ And Ionathan put off the robe that was vpon him, & gaue it Dauid, & his garments, euen to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

⁵ And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, [and] behaved himselfThat is, he prospered in all his doings.wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

⁶ And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of theThat is, Goliath.Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.

⁷ And the women sang by course in their play, and sayd, Saul hath slayne his thousand, & Dauid his ten thousand.

⁸ Therefore Saul was exceeding wroth, and the saying displeased him, & he sayde, They haue ascribed vnto Dauid ten thousand, & to me they haue ascribed but a thousand, & what can he haue more saue the kingdome?

⁹ And SaulBecause he envied and hated him.eyed David from that day and forward.

¹⁰ And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and heThat is, spoke as a man beside himself for so the people abused this word, when they could not understand.prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and [there was] a javelin in Saul's hand.

¹¹ And Saul tooke the speare, and sayd, I will smite Dauid through to the wall. But Dauid auoyded twise out of his presence.

¹² And Saul was afrayd of Dauid, because the Lord was with him, & was departed from Saul.

¹³ Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he wentMeaning he was captain over the people.out and came in before the people.

¹⁴ And Dauid behaued himselfe wisely in all his wayes: for the Lord was with him.

¹⁵ Wherefore when Saul saw that he was very wise, he was afrayde of him.

¹⁶ For all Israel and Iudah loued Dauid, because he went out and in before them.

¹⁷ And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, andFight against them that war against God's people.fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

¹⁸ And Dauid answered Saul, What am I? and what is my life, or the family of my father in Israel, that I should be sonne in law to the King?

¹⁹ But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, thatBy whom he had five sons who David put to death at the request of the Gibeonites, (2Sa_21:8).she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.

²⁰ Then Michal Sauls daughter loued Dauid: & they shewed Saul, & the thing pleased him.

²¹ And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be aSo his hypocrisy appears, for under pretence of favour he sought his destruction.snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in [the one of] the twain.

²² And Saul commanded his seruants, Speake with Dauid secretly, & say, Behold, ye King hath a fauour to thee, and all his seruants loue thee: be now therefore the Kings sonne in law.

²³ And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said,Meaning, that he was not able to endow his wife with riches.Seemeth it to you [a] light [thing] to be a king's son in law, seeing that I [am] a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

²⁴ And then Sauls seruats brought him word againe, saying, Such wordes spake Dauid.

²⁵ And Saul sayd, This wise shal ye say to Dauid, The King desireth no dowrie, but an hundred foreskinnes of the Philistims, to bee auenged of the Kings enemies: for Saul thought to make Dauid fall into the handes of the Philistims.

²⁶ And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be theBecause he thought himself able to compass the king's request.king's son in law: and the days were not expired.

²⁷ Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, andMeaning, David and his soldiers.they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.

²⁸ Then Saul sawe, and vnderstoode that the Lord was with Dauid, & that Michal the daughter of Saul loued him.

²⁹ And Saul was yet the more afraidTo be deprived of his kingdom.of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually.

³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, [that]That is, David had better success against the Philistines than Saul's men.David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.