Study Desk

Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor.

When the Philistine looked and saw David, he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and reddish, with a handsome appearance.

So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a saber, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

"This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul's hand.

So Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

Then Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the LORD'S battles." For Saul thought, "My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."

So it came about at the time that Merab, Saul's daughter, was to be given to David, that she was given instead to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

For Saul thought, "I will give her to him so that she may become a trap for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David, "For a second time you may become my son-in-law, today."

So Saul's servants spoke these words to David. But David said, "Is it trivial in your sight to become the king's son-in-law, since I am only a poor man and insignificant?"

Saul then said, "This is what you shall say to David: 'The king does not desire any dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king's enemies.'" But Saul plotted to have David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

David set out and went, he and his men, and fatally struck two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they presented all two hundred of them to the king, so that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.

So Jonathan informed David, saying, "My father Saul is seeking to put you to death. Now then, please be on your guard in the morning, and stay in a hiding place and conceal yourself.

"For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?"

So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled, and escaped.

And Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with clothing.

Yet David vowed again, saying, "Your father is well aware that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, 'Jonathan is not to know this, otherwise he will be worried.' But indeed as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is just a step between me and death."