1 Samuel 18 · Verse 3

1 Samuel 18:3

Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
1 Samuel 18:3, King James Version

1 Samuel 18:3 in other translations

BSBThen Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
WEBThen Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
ASVThen Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
YLTAnd Jonathan maketh--also David--a covenant, because he loveth him as his own soul,
DARBYAnd Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
BBEThen Jonathan and David made an agreement together, because of Jonathan's love for David.
WebsterThen Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

What does 1 Samuel 18:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant--Such covenants of brotherhood are frequent in the East. They are ratified by certain ceremonies, and in presence of witnesses, that the persons covenanting will be sworn brothers for life.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 18:1-5

The friendship of David and Jonathan was the effect of Divine grace, which produces in true believers one heart and one soul, and causes them to love each other. This union of souls is from partaking in the Spirit of Christ. Where God unites hearts, carnal matters are too weak to separate them. Those who love Christ as their own souls, will be willing to join themselves to him in an everlasting covenant. It was…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 18:1-5 →

1 Samuel 18:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּכְרֹ֧תvai.yikh.Rotand he madeH3772
יְהוֹנָתָ֛ןye.ho.na.TanJonathanH3083
וְדָוִ֖דve.da.Vidand DavidH1732
בְּרִ֑יתbe.Rita covenantH1285
בְּאַהֲבָת֥וֹbe.'a.ha.va.Toin love hisH160
אֹת֖וֹ'o.To<obj.> himH853
כְּנַפְשֽׁוֹ\׃ke.naf.Sholike own self hisH5315

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 18:3

  • 1 Samuel 20:42

    And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

  • 1 Samuel 20:8-17

    Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly? And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. …

  • 2 Samuel 21:7

    But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

  • 2 Samuel 9:1-3

    And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.

  • 1 Samuel 23:18

    And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
made a covenant.
20:8-17,42; 23:18; 2Sa 9:1-3; 21:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 18:2

    And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.

  • 1 Samuel 18:3

    Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

  • 1 Samuel 18:4

    And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

Read all of 1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
E hicieron alianza Jonathán y David, porque él le amaba como á su alma.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Jonathan fit alliance avec David, parce qu’il l’aimait comme son âme.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Jonathan und David schlossen einen Bund, weil er ihn liebte wie seine Seele.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Inierunt autem David et Jonathas fœdus: diligebat enim eum quasi animam suam.