And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.
Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
And David {Or, went out; whithersoever Saul sent him, he &c.}went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and {Or, prospered}behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the {Or, Philistines}Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with {Or, triangles Or, three-stringed instruments}instruments of music.
And the women {Or, answered one another}sang one to another as they played, and said,
Saul hath slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.
And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he {Or, raved}prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand;
and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
And David {Or, prospered}behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him.
And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him.
But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.
And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah's battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
And David said unto Saul, Who am I, and {Or, who are my kinsfolk}what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?
But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.
And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time.
And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.
And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.
And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired;
and David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.
And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was with David; and Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him.
And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David's enemy continually.
Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David {Or, prospered more than}behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much {Hebrew: precious.}set by.
Querverweise zu 1. Samuel 18,3 1Sam 18,3
Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee: but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee roughly?
And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
And Jonathan said unto David, Jehovah, the God of Israel, be witness: when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee?
Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and Jehovah be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I die not;
but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when Jehovah hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David's enemies.
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, {Or, by his love toward him}for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
And they two made a covenant before Jehovah: and David abode in {Or, Horesh}the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba, and they called him unto David; and the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, who is lame of his feet.
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Jehovah's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.