The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, ‘Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands’?”

When his daughter Herodias ¹  came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”

As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him. ¹ 

The Benjaminites did as instructed. ¹  They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. ²  They went home ³  to their own territory, ⁴  rebuilt their cities, and settled down. ⁵ 

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ¹  ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; ²  we wailed in mourning, ³  yet you did not weep.’

Wild animals will rest there, the ruined ¹  houses will be full of hyenas. ²  Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins. ³ 

So he took David ¹  down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot ²  they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

As the ark of the Lord’s covenant entered the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked out the window. When she saw King David jumping and celebrating, she despised him. ¹ 

The women who were playing the music sang, “Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!”

and my spirit has begun to rejoice ¹  in God my Savior,

David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family ¹  and appointed me as leader over the Lord’s people Israel.

They sing ¹  to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute.

The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture, ¹  and the hills are clothed with joy. ² 

Their hearts are calloused, ¹  but I find delight in your law.

my soul ¹  will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. ² 

The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped playing their music.

while David and all Israel were energetically ¹  celebrating before God, singing and playing various stringed instruments, ²  tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

The Lord’s shout bends ¹  the large trees ²  and strips ³  the leaves from the forests. ⁴  Everyone in his temple says, “Majestic!” ⁵ 

But look, there is outright celebration! ¹  You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep, eat meat and drink wine. Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” ² 

So do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” ¹