181 Samuel 18

1David and Saul finished talking, and soon David and Jonathan became best friends. Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself.Select 1 Samuel 18:1

2From that time on, Saul kept David in his service and would not let David go back to his own family.Select 1 Samuel 18:2

3Jonathan liked David so much that they promised to always be loyal friends.Select 1 Samuel 18:3

4Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David. He also gave him his military clothes, his sword, his bow and arrows, and his belt.Select 1 Samuel 18:4

5David was a success in everything that Saul sent him to do, and Saul made him a high officer in his army. That pleased everyone, including Saul's other officers.Select 1 Samuel 18:5

Saul Becomes David's Enemy

6David had killed Goliath, the battle was over, and the Israelite army set out for home. As the army went along, women came out of each Israelite town to welcome King Saul. They were celebrating by singing songs and dancing to the music of tambourines and harps.Select 1 Samuel 18:6

7They sang: Saul has killed a thousand enemies; David has killed ten thousand!Select 1 Samuel 18:7

8This song made Saul very angry, and he thought, “They are saying that David has killed ten times more enemies than I ever did. Next they will want to make him king.”Select 1 Samuel 18:8

9Saul never again trusted David.Select 1 Samuel 18:9

10The next day the Lord let an evil spirit take control of Saul, and he began acting like a crazy man inside his house. David came to play the harp for Saul as usual, but this time Saul had a spear in his hand.Select 1 Samuel 18:10

11Saul thought, “I'll pin David to the wall.” He threw the spear at David twice, but David dodged and got away both times.Select 1 Samuel 18:11

12Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was helping David and was no longer helping him.Select 1 Samuel 18:12

13Saul put David in charge of 1,000 soldiers and sent him out to fight.Select 1 Samuel 18:13

14The Lord helped David, and he and his soldiers always won their battles.Select 1 Samuel 18:14

15This made Saul even more afraid of David.Select 1 Samuel 18:15

16But everyone else in Judah and Israel was loyal to David, because he led the army in battle.Select 1 Samuel 18:16

17One day, Saul told David, “If you'll be brave and fight the Lord's battles for me, I'll let you marry my oldest daughter Merab.” But Saul was really thinking, “I don't want to kill David myself, so I'll let the Philistines do it for me.”Select 1 Samuel 18:17

18David answered, “How could I possibly marry your daughter? I'm not very important, and neither is my family.”Select 1 Samuel 18:18

19But when the time came for David to marry Saul's daughter Merab, Saul told her to marry Adriel from the town of Meholah.Select 1 Samuel 18:19

20Saul had another daughter. Her name was Michal, and Saul found out that she was in love with David. This made Saul happy,Select 1 Samuel 18:20

21and he thought, “I'll tell David he can marry Michal, but I'll set it up so that the Philistines will kill him.” He told David, “I'm going to give you a second chance to marry one of my daughters.”Select 1 Samuel 18:21

23Saul ordered his officials to speak to David in private, so they went to David and said, “Look, the king likes you, and all of his officials are loyal to you. Why not ask the king if you can marry his daughter Michal?” “I'm not rich or famous enough to marry princess Michal!” David answered.Select 1 Samuel 18:23

24The officials went back to Saul and told him exactly what David had said.Select 1 Samuel 18:24

25Saul was hoping that the Philistines would kill David, and he told his officials to tell David, “The king doesn't want any silver or gold. He only wants to get even with his enemies. All you have to do is to bring back proof that you have killed 100 Philistines!”Select 1 Samuel 18:25

26The officials told David, and David wanted to marry the princess. King Saul had set a time limit, and before it ran out,Select 1 Samuel 18:26

27David and his men left and killed 200 Philistines. David brought back the proof that Saul had demanded and showed it to him, so he could marry Michal. Saul agreed to let David marry Michal.Select 1 Samuel 18:27

28King Saul knew that she loved David, and he also realized that the Lord was helping David.Select 1 Samuel 18:28

29But knowing those things made Saul even more afraid of David, and he was David's enemy for the rest of his life.Select 1 Samuel 18:29

30The Philistine rulers kept coming to fight Israel, but whenever David fought them, he won. He was famous because he won more battles against the Philistines than any of Saul's other officers.Select 1 Samuel 18:30