Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
- BSB Therefore Saul sent David away and gave him command of a thousand men. David led the troops out to battle and back,
- NKJV Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
- NASB 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.
- NLT Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Saul removes David from his presence by making him a commander over a thousand, and David leads the people. The king's attempt to sideline David only widens his influence.
Overview
To distance the man he fears, Saul gives David a military command away from court. The plan backfires, for David's leadership among the people increases his standing. God turns Saul's scheming to David's advancement, demonstrating that human efforts cannot frustrate the rise of the one the Lord has chosen.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Sam 5:2Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.
- Ps 121:8The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
- 1 Sam 18:25And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
- 1 Sam 8:12And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
- Num 27:16–17Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,
- 1 Sam 18:16–17But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
- 1 Sam 22:7Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 18:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.