1 Samuel 18:5-16

New International Reader's Version

⁵ David did everything Saul sent him to do. He did it so well that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. That pleased Saul’s whole army, including his officers.

⁶ After David had killed Goliath, the men of Israel returned home. The women came out of all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul. They danced and sang joyful songs. They played harps and tambourines. ⁷ As they danced, they sang,

⁸ That song made Saul very angry. It really upset him. He said to himself, “They are saying David has killed tens of thousands of men. But they are saying I’ve killed only thousands. The only thing left for him to get is the kingdom itself.” ⁹ From that time on, Saul watched David closely.

¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit sent by God came powerfully on Saul. Saul began to prophesy in his house. At that same time David began to play the harp, just as he usually did. Saul was holding a spear. ¹¹ He threw it at David. As he did, he said to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David got away from him twice.

¹² The Lord had left Saul and was with David. So Saul was afraid of David. ¹³ He sent David away. He put him in command of 1,000 men. David led the troops in battle. ¹⁴ In everything he did, he was very successful. That’s because the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul saw how successful David was, he became afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all the troops of Israel and Judah loved David. That’s because he led them in battle.