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.
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.
- KJV Therefore Saul removed him from him, 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,
- 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 5:2In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel out and in. Yahweh said to you, ‘You will be shepherd of my people Israel, and you will be prince over Israel.’”
- Ps 121:8Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.
- 1 Sam 18:25Saul said, “Tell David, ‘The king desires no dowry except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul thought he would make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
- 1 Sam 8:12He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
- Num 27:16–17“Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation,
- 1 Sam 18:16–17But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.
- 1 Sam 22:7Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,
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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
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