1Sa 12, 1Sa 18 | ESV | STEP | And Samuel said to all Israel , Behold , I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you.

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed ^ayour voice in all that you have said to me ^band have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king ^cwalks before you, ^dand I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before ^ehis anointed. ^fWhose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me} and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and ^hhis anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything ⁱin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, ^j“The Lord is witness, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness} who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 ^lWhen Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them} ⁿthen your fathers cried out to the Lord and ^othe Lord sent Moses and Aaron, ^pwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But ^qthey forgot the Lord their God. ^rAnd he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, ^{▼▼Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor} ^tand into the hand of the Philistines, ^uand into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 ^vAnd they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^wand have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now ^xdeliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent ^yJerubbaal ^zand Barak ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan} ^aband Jephthah and ^acSamuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that ^adNahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, ^aeyou said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^afwhen the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now ^agbehold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, ^ahthe Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will ^aifear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But ^ajif you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then ^akthe hand of the Lord will be against you and ^alyour king. ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew fathers} 16 Now therefore ^anstand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 ^aoIs it not wheat harvest today? ^apI will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that ^aqyour wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, ^arand all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, ^as“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet ^atdo not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And ^audo not turn aside after ^avempty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 ^awFor the Lord will not forsake his people, ^axfor his great name’s sake, because ^ayit has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing ^azto pray for you, ^baand I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 ^bbOnly fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider ^bcwhat great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, ^bdyou shall be swept away, ^beboth you and your king.”

1 Samuel 18

David and Jonathan’s Friendship

1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan ^bfloved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day ^bgand would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because ^bhhe loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 And David went out ^biand was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

Saul’s Jealousy of David

6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, ^bjthe women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ^{▼▼Or triangles, or three-stringed instruments} 7 And the women ^blsang to one another as they celebrated,

^bm“Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”
8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but ^bnthe kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.

10 The next day ^boa harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and ^bphe raved within his house while David was ^bqplaying the lyre, as he did day by day. ^brSaul had his spear in his hand. 11 And Saul ^bshurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

12 ^btSaul was afraid of David because ^buthe Lord was with him ^bvbut had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. ^bwAnd he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David ^bxhad success in all his undertakings, ^byfor the Lord was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that ^bzhe had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 ^caBut all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is ^cbmy elder daughter Merab. ^ccI will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me ^cdand fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, ^cebut let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 And David said to Saul, ^cf“Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” 19 But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to ^cgAdriel the ^chMeholathite for a wife.

20 Now ^ciSaul’s daughter Michal ^cjloved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may ^ckbe a snare for him ^cland that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, ^{▼▼Hebrew by two} ^cn“You shall now be my son-in-law.” 22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king’s son-in-law.’” 23 And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, ^co“Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” 24 And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” 25 Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no ^cpbride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^cqthat he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” ^crNow Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. ^csBefore the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, ^ctalong with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. ^cuAnd David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28 But when Saul saw and knew that ^cvthe Lord was with David, ^cwand that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

30 ^cxThen the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out ^cyDavid had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.