Saul Envies David

1 Samuel 18:8-30, 19:8-24

Bible Stories

 

1 Samuel 18:8 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?”

1 Samuel 18:9 Therefore, Saul did not regard David with a good eye, from that day and thereafter.

1 Samuel 18:10 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.

1 Samuel 18:11 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.

1 Samuel 18:12 And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, but he had withdrawn from Saul.

1 Samuel 18:13 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.

1 Samuel 18:14 Also, David acted prudently in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.

1 Samuel 18:15 And so, Saul saw that he was exceedingly prudent, and he began to be wary of him.

1 Samuel 18:16 But all of Israel and Judah loved David. For he entered and departed before them.

1 Samuel 18:17 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.”

1 Samuel 18:18 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?”

1 Samuel 18:19 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.

1 Samuel 18:20 Now Michal, the other daughter of Saul, loved David. And this was reported to Saul, and it pleased him.

1 Samuel 18:21 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.”

1 Samuel 18:22 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.”

1 Samuel 18:23 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.”

1 Samuel 18:24 And the servants reported to Saul, saying, “David has spoken words in this manner.”

1 Samuel 18:25 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.

1 Samuel 18:26 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.

1 Samuel 18:27 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.

1 Samuel 18:28 And Saul saw and understood that the Lord was with David. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, loved him.

1 Samuel 18:29 And Saul began to fear David all the more. And Saul became the enemy of David, every day.

1 Samuel 18:30 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.

1 Samuel 19:8 Then the war was stirred up again. And David went out and fought against the Philistines. And he struck them down with a great slaughter. And they fled from his face.

1 Samuel 19:9 And the evil spirit from the Lord came to Saul, who was sitting in his house and holding a lance. And David was playing music with his hand.

1 Samuel 19:10 And Saul attempted to fix David to the wall with the lance. But David turned aside from the face of Saul. And the lance failed to wound him, and it became fixed in the wall. And David fled, and so he was saved that night.

1 Samuel 19:11 Therefore, Saul sent his guards to David’s house, so that they might watch for him, and so that he might be killed in the morning. And after Michal, his wife, had reported this to David, saying, “Unless you save yourself this night, tomorrow you will die,”

1 Samuel 19:12 she lowered him down through a window. Then he fled and went away, and he was saved.

1 Samuel 19:13 Then Michal took a statue, and placed it on the bed. And she placed the pelt of a goat for the hair at its head. And she covered it with clothes.

1 Samuel 19:14 And Saul sent attendants to seize David. And it was answered that he was sick.

1 Samuel 19:15 And again, Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him to me on the bed, so that he may be killed.”

1 Samuel 19:16 And when the messengers had arrived, they found a likeness on the bed, with a goat pelt at its head.

1 Samuel 19:17 And Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me in this way, and released my enemy, so that he may flee?” And Michal responded to Saul, “Because he said to me, ‘Release me, otherwise I will kill you.’ ”

1 Samuel 19:18 Now David was saved by fleeing, and he went to Samuel in Ramah. And he reported to him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went away and stayed at Naioth.

1 Samuel 19:19 Then it was reported to Saul by some, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth, in Ramah.”

1 Samuel 19:20 Therefore, Saul sent officers to seize David. And when they had seen a company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel presiding over them, the Spirit of the Lord also came to them, and they also began to prophesy.

1 Samuel 19:21 And when this was reported to Saul, he sent other messengers. But they also prophesied. And again, Saul sent messengers a third time. And they also prophesied. And Saul, being exceedingly angry,

1 Samuel 19:22 also went to Ramah himself. And he went as far as the great cistern, which is in Socoh. And he inquired and said, “In which place are Samuel and David?” And it was told to him, “Behold, they are at Naioth, in Ramah.”

1 Samuel 19:23 And he went to Naioth, in Ramah, and the Spirit of the Lord came to him also. And he continued on, walking and prophesying, until he arrived at Naioth, in Ramah.

1 Samuel 19:24 And he also took off his garments, and he prophesied with the others before Samuel. And he fell down naked, throughout that day and night. From this, too, is derived the proverb, “Could Saul also be among the prophets?”