Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, November 2nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

1 Samuel 18:12

Now Saul feared David. It was clear that God was with David and had left Saul. So, Saul got David out of his sight by making him an officer in the army. David was in combat frequently. Everything David did turned out well. Yes, God was with him. As Saul saw David becoming more successful, he himself grew more fearful. He could see the handwriting on the wall. But everyone else in Israel and Judah loved David. They loved watching him in action.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Apostasy;   David;   Holy Spirit;   Jealousy;   Malice;   Prudence;   Reprobacy;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Disease;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - David;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Saul;   Holman Bible Dictionary - David;   Samuel, Books of;   Saul;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Merab;   Samuel, Books of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Genesis, the Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.
Hebrew Names Version
Sha'ul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Sha'ul.
King James Version
And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Lexham English Bible
Now Saul was threatened by the presence of David because Yahweh was with him, but had departed from Saul.
English Standard Version
Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
New Century Version
The Lord was with David but had left Saul. So Saul was afraid of David.
New English Translation
So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
Amplified Bible
Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul.
New American Standard Bible
Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had left Saul.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Saul was afrayd of Dauid, because the Lord was with him, & was departed from Saul.
Legacy Standard Bible
And Saul was afraid of David, for Yahweh was with him but had turned away from Saul.
Contemporary English Version
Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was helping David and was no longer helping him.
Complete Jewish Bible
Sha'ul became afraid of David, because Adonai was with him and had left Sha'ul.
Darby Translation
And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and had departed from Saul.
Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord had left Saul and was now with David, so Saul was afraid of David.
George Lamsa Translation
And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and had departed from Saul.
Good News Translation
Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David but had abandoned him.
Literal Translation
And Saul feared David, because Jehovah was with him, and had departed from Saul.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Saul was afrayed of Dauid: for the LORDE was with him, and was departed from Saul.
American Standard Version
And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Bible in Basic English
And Saul went in fear of David, because the Lord was with David and had gone away from Saul.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Saul was afrayde of Dauid, because the Lorde was with him, & was departed from Saul.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
King James Version (1611)
And Saul was afraid of Dauid, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Saul was alarmed on account of David.
English Revised Version
And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Berean Standard Bible
So Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Saul dredde Dauid, for the Lord was with hym, and hadde go awei fro him silf.
Young's Literal Translation
And Saul is afraid of the presence of David, for Jehovah hath been with him, and from Saul He hath turned aside;
Update Bible Version
And Saul was afraid of David, because Yahweh was with him, and had departed from Saul.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and had departed from Saul.
World English Bible
Saul was afraid of David, because Yahweh was with him, and was departed from Saul.
New King James Version
Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul.
New Living Translation
Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul.
New Life Bible
Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had left Saul.
New Revised Standard
Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Saul feared because of David, - for Yahweh was with him, whereas, from Saul, he had departed.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul himself.
Revised Standard Version
Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now Saul was afraid of David, for the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul.

Contextual Overview

12Now Saul feared David. It was clear that God was with David and had left Saul. So, Saul got David out of his sight by making him an officer in the army. David was in combat frequently. Everything David did turned out well. Yes, God was with him. As Saul saw David becoming more successful, he himself grew more fearful. He could see the handwriting on the wall. But everyone else in Israel and Judah loved David. They loved watching him in action. 17 One day Saul said to David, "Here is Merab, my eldest daughter. I want to give her to you as your wife. Be brave and bold for my sake. Fight God 's battles!" But all the time Saul was thinking, "The Philistines will kill him for me. I won't have to lift a hand against him." 18 David, embarrassed, answered, "Do you really mean that? I'm from a family of nobodies! I can't be son-in-law to the king." 19 The wedding day was set, but as the time neared for Merab and David to be married, Saul reneged and married his daughter off to Adriel the Meholathite. 20Meanwhile, Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David. When Saul was told of this, he rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Ah, a second chance. I'll use Michal as bait to get David out where the Philistines will make short work of him." So again he said to David, "You're going to be my son-in-law." 22 Saul ordered his servants, "Get David off by himself and tell him, ‘The king is very taken with you, and everyone at court loves you. Go ahead, become the king's son-in-law!'" 23 The king's servants told all this to David, but David held back. "What are you thinking of? I can't do that. I'm a nobody; I have nothing to offer." 24When the servants reported David's response to Saul, he told them to tell David this: "The king isn't expecting any money from you; only this: Go kill a hundred Philistines and bring evidence of your vengeance on the king's behalf. Avenge the king on his enemies." (Saul expected David to be killed in action.) 26On receiving this message, David was pleased. There was something he could do for the king that would qualify him to be his son-in-law! He lost no time but went right out, he and his men, killed the hundred Philistines, brought their evidence back in a sack, and counted it out before the king—mission completed! Saul gave Michal his daughter to David in marriage. 28As Saul more and more realized that God was with David, and how much his own daughter, Michal, loved him, his fear of David increased and settled into hate. Saul hated David.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

afraid: 1 Samuel 18:15, 1 Samuel 18:20, 1 Samuel 18:29, 1 Samuel 16:4, Psalms 48:3-6, Psalms 53:5, Mark 6:20, Luke 8:37, Acts 24:25

the Lord: 1 Samuel 16:13, 1 Samuel 16:18, 1 Samuel 22:13, Acts 7:9

departed: 1 Samuel 16:14, 1 Samuel 28:15, Psalms 51:11, Hosea 9:12, Matthew 25:41

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:10 - and they shall Judges 16:20 - the Lord Acts 5:17 - indignation

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, "Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?"
Genesis 18:6
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, "Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread."
Genesis 18:7
Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.
Genesis 18:11
Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, "An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?"
Genesis 18:13
God said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?' Is anything too hard for God ? I'll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby."
Genesis 18:20
God continued, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I'm going down to see for myself, see if what they're doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I'll know."
1 Peter 3:6
Cultivate Inner Beauty The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him,.... Protecting and preserving him, prospering and succeeding him, giving him victory over his enemies, and favour among the people; the Targum is,

"the Word of the Lord was for his help.''

Procopius Gazaeus interprets it of the Holy Ghost, whose grace was vouchsafed unto him: he might be afraid in his melancholy fits, that as he had attempted to take away the life of David, that David would contrive and seek an opportunity, and take away his life, and seize the kingdom which God had given him, and his being with him strengthened these fears:

and was departed from Saul; so that he was destitute of courage, and greatness of mind, and of wisdom and prudence, and became mean and abject, and exposed himself to the contempt of his subjects.


 
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