After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
- KJV And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
- NKJV Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
- NASB Now it came about, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that Jonathan committed himself to David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.
- NLT After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David.
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
Jonathan's soul is knit to David's, and he loves him as himself. A deep, godly friendship is born, marked by selfless loyalty.
Overview
Immediately after David's triumph, Saul's son Jonathan is bound to him in love as to his own soul. Their friendship is a model of covenant loyalty and self-giving affection. Remarkably, Jonathan, the natural heir, loves the one who will replace him, foreshadowing the humility that gladly yields to God's anointed king.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 18:24A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
- 1 Sam 20:17And Jonathan had David reaffirm his vow out of love for him, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.
- 1 Sam 18:3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
- 2 Sam 1:26I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.
- Col 2:2that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,
- Gen 44:30So if the boy is not with us when I return to your servant, and if my father, whose life is wrapped up in the boy’s life,
- Deut 13:6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known,
- 1 Sam 19:2so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.
- Judg 20:11So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city.
- 1 Chr 12:17And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”
- 1 Sam 14:45But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
- 1 Sam 14:1–14One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
- Ps 86:11Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.
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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 18:1 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.