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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>1 Samuel 18 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_samuel/18.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_samuel/18-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > 1 Samuel 18</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_samuel/17.htm" title="1 Samuel 17">◄</a> 1 Samuel 18 <a href="../1_samuel/19.htm" title="1 Samuel 19">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/1_samuel/18.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Saul’s Growing Fear of David</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>As they danced, they sang:</p><div class="stanza"><p class="line1">“Saul has slain his thousands,</p><p class="line2">and David his tens of thousands.”</p></div> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>The next day an evil <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or a harmful">a</a></sup></span> spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Saul was afraid of David, because the <span class="name">Lord</span> was with David but had departed from Saul. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>In everything he did he had great success, because the <span class="name">Lord</span> was with him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the <span class="name">Lord</span>.” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>So <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or However,">b</a></sup></span> when the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’ ”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>They repeated these words to David. But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man and little known.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’ ” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>When Saul realized that the <span class="name">Lord</span> was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/18-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">10</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>a harmful</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">19</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>However,</i></span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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