1 Samuel 18

1 After David had finished [come to an end, completed] speaking [communicating, conversing] with Saul, the souls [living beings, essence of a person] of Jonathan and David were knit together [bound, tied], and Jonathan loved [had affection for, cherished] him as himself [his own soul, dearly]. word study 2 And from that [very same] day [period of time, era] Saul [Shaul, the desired one] kept [retained, took] David [beloved one] with him [in his presence, under his care] and did not let him [would not permit, refused to allow] return [to turn back, go back] to his [own, paternal] father’s [male parent, ancestor] house [dwelling place, family home]. word study 3 Then Jonathan [and David, as a mutual agreement] made a covenant [a solemn promise, an agreement] with David because he loved [had affection for, cherished] him as [with the same love as] himself [his own soul, his very being]. word study 4 And Jonathan [stripped himself, removed his outer garments] removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic [a long garment, a soldier’s attire], his sword [a cutting instrument, a tool for battle], his bow [a weapon for hunting and war], and his belt [a girdle]. word study 5 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] marched out and prospered [was successful, had good success] in everything [all things, every matter] Saul [Shaul, meaning desired] sent him to do, and Saul set him over the men of war [battle, soldiers]. And this was pleasing [good, joyful] in the sight [eye, regard] of all [every] the people, and of Saul’s officers [servants, attendants] as well [also, too]. word study 6 As the troops were returning home [after a victorious campaign] after David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] had killed [struck down, defeated] the Philistine [an immigrant from other places, a non-Hebrew], the women came out of all [every single one of] the cities [towns, settlements] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] to meet [encounter, greet] King Saul [the first king of Israel, a Benjamite] with singing [joyful songs, melodies] and dancing [celebratory movements, joyful expressions], with joyful songs [hymns, praises], and with tambourines [musical instruments, percussion] and other instruments [stringed instruments, lyres]. word study 7 And as the women [singing, making music, responding] danced, they sang out: “Saul [Shaul, the desired one] has slain [struck, smitten] his thousands [a large number], and David [the beloved one] his tens of thousands [myriads, a multitude, ten thousand].” word study 8 And Saul was furious [very wroth, exceedingly angry] and resented [was displeased with, took offense at] this song [the saying, the word]. “They have ascribed [given credit for, attributed] tens of thousands [myriads, a large number] to David [the beloved king],” he said, “but only thousands [a smaller number] to me [to myself, personally]. What more can he have [what else can he gain, what is left for him] but the kingdom [the kingship, the realm of royalty]?” word study 9 And from that [very first] day forward Saul [kept watching with suspicion, eyed] kept a jealous eye on David [the youngest son of Jesse, a future king]. word study 10 The next day [on the morrow, following day] a spirit [breath of life] of distress [bad, evil, sadness] sent from God [Elohim, the supreme God] came upon Saul [Shaul, desired], and he prophesied [spoke under divine influence] inside the house [dwelling place, midst of his home] while David [youngest son of Jesse] played the harp [lyre, stringed instrument] as usual [day by day, regularly]. Now Saul was holding a spear [javelin, lance, thrusting weapon], word study 11 and he hurled [threw with force, cast] it, thinking [saying to himself, intending], “I will pin [smite, strike] David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] to the wall [a barrier, a dividing structure].” But David [the future king of Israel] eluded [avoided, turned away from] him twice [on two occasions, two times]. word study 12 So Saul [was filled with fear, stood in awe] was afraid [to fear, revere] of David, because [for, on account of] the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] was with [together, in companionship] David but had [to turn aside, depart] departed [removed, gone away] from Saul. word study 13 Therefore Saul [removed him from his presence] sent David away and gave him command of a thousand [a large company of] men. David led the troops [as their captain, ruler] out to battle [to fight, to war] and back [coming and going before the people, in their presence], word study 14 and he [David, the youngest son of Jesse] continued to prosper [be successful, have great success] in all [every, the entirety of] his ways [paths, manner of life], because the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] was with [together, in accompaniment] him [in his presence, under His guidance]. word study 15 When Saul [Shaul, the desired one] saw [perceived, became aware] that David was very [exceedingly, greatly] successful [behaving himself wisely, prudent], he was afraid [stood in awe, dreaded] of him [in his presence, before his face]. word study 16 But [entirely, completely] all Israel [the descendants of Jacob] and Judah [the tribe of Judah] loved [had affection for, were devoted to] David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel], because [for the reason that] he [as their leader] was leading [guiding, commanding] them out to battle and back [in victory] [going out and coming in before them, as their commander]. word study 17 Then Saul [the king of Israel] said to David, “Here is my older [eldest, firstborn] daughter Merab [a woman of noble birth]. I will give her to you in marriage [as a wife, to be your partner]. Only be valiant [strong, courageous, a mighty warrior] for me and fight [engage in battle, wage war] the LORD’s [Yehovah, the supreme God] battles [wars, conflicts].” But Saul [the king, with a hidden motive] was thinking, “I need not raise my hand [use my own power, take action myself] against him; let the hand [power, strength] of the Philistines [the enemies of Israel, a pagan nation] be against him.” word study 18 And David [the youngest son of Jesse] said to Saul, “Who [what person] am I, and what is my family [clan or tribe] or my father’s [ancestral] clan in Israel [the people of God], that I should become the son-in-law [husband of the king’s daughter] of the king [the ruler of Israel]?” word study 19 So when it was [the appointed, destined] time to give Saul’s daughter [a female child, a woman] Merab [a daughter of King Saul] to David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel], she was given [to be married, to be joined] in marriage [a covenant relationship, a union] to Adriel [a man with a name meaning’flock of God’] of Meholah [a place possibly named for its dancing, a city in Israel] [instead of to David, as a substitute]. word study 20 Now Saul’s daughter [the king’s child, a woman of royal birth] Michal loved [had strong affection for, was deeply devoted to] David, and when this was reported [told, declared openly] to Saul, it pleased [was agreeable to, seemed right in the eyes of] him. word study 21 “I will give her to David,” Saul [Shaul, the first king of Israel] thought, “so that she may be a [moral or spiritual] snare [trap, bait] to him, and the hand [power, strength] of the Philistines [a non-Israelite, pagan people] may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time [again, once more] now you can be my son-in-law [relative by marriage, part of my family].” word study 22 Then Saul [the king of Israel] ordered his servants [attendants, those who serve], “Speak to David [the future king, a man after God’s heart] privately [in secrecy, quietly] and tell him, ‘Behold [look, see], the king [the ruler, sovereign] is pleased with you [has delight in you, is happy with], and all his servants [those who serve him, his attendants] love you [have affection for you, are devoted to you]. Now therefore, become his son-in-law [be related to the king by marriage, join the royal family].’” word study 23 But when Saul’s servants [attendants, those who served him] relayed these words to David, he replied, “Does it seem trivial [a light thing, of little importance] in your sight [eyes, perception] to be the son-in-law [related by marriage, a king’s relative] of the king [ruler, monarch]? I am a poor [destitute, lacking] man [individual, person] and lightly esteemed [treated with contempt, dishonored].” word study 24 And the servants [attendants, those bound to serve] told Saul [Shaul, the desired one] what David [the beloved of God] had said [spoken, declared, using the word ‘davar’ which means a thing, matter, or affair] [on this manner, in these words]. word study 25 Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king [Shaul, the ruler] desires no other dowry [brideprice, payment for a wife] but a hundred [numeral, a large quantity] Philistine [uncircumcised, pagan] foreskins [proof of conquest] as revenge [vengeance, punishment] on his enemies [those who oppose, hate].’” But Saul [the king, with a hidden motive] intended to cause David’s [the future king, God’s chosen] death [demise, downfall] at the hands [power, control] of the Philistines [the uncircumcised, God’s enemies]. word study 26 When the servants [faithful attendants, those who serve] reported these terms [words, matters, affairs] to David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel], he was pleased [it was right in his eyes, he was well satisfied] to become the king’s [royal, belonging to the monarch] son-in-law [related by marriage, connected through wedding vows]. Before the wedding day [appointed time, deadline] arrived [came to pass, expired], word study 27 David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines [uncircumcised, heathen men]. He brought their foreskins [a sign of their defeat, uncircumcision] and presented them as payment in full [to fulfill the king’s requirement] to become the king’s son-in-law [a relative by marriage, connected to the royal family]. Then Saul [Shaul, the first king of Israel] gave his daughter Michal [the daughter of a king, a woman of royalty] to David in marriage [to be his wife, a covenant partner]. word study 28 When Saul [Shaul, the desired one] realized [saw and knew, perceived] that the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] was with [together, in accompaniment] David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and that his daughter Michal [the one who is like God, loved by her father] loved [had affection for, was devoted to] David, word study 29 he grew even more afraid [yet the more, still] of David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel]. So from then on [continually, all the days] Saul [Shaul, meaning desired] was David’s [the beloved king] enemy [adversary, one who hates or opposes]. word study 30 Every time the Philistine [rulers of the Philistines] commanders came out [to come out, to go forth] for battle, David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] was more successful [behaved himself more wisely] than all [everything, every single one] of Saul’s [Shaul, meaning desired] officers, so that his name [identity, honor, and character] was highly [very, exceedingly] esteemed [precious, valuable]. word study