And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.

And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armorbearer.

And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him exceedingly, and made him his armourbearer.

And David came to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer.

And David cometh in unto Saul, and standeth before him, and he loveth him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons.

And David came to Saul, waiting before him: and he became very dear to Saul, who made him his servant, giving him the care of his arms.

And David went to Saul, and stood before him. And he loved him exceedingly, and he made him his armor bearer.

The difficulty of reconciling this verse with 1-Samuel 17:55-58, is met thus: The words here are the ultimate sequence of David's first visit to Saul, and of his skill in music, and are therefore placed here; but they did not really come to pass until after David's victory over Goliath (see 1-Samuel 18:2). It is quite conceivable that if David had only played once or twice to Saul, and then returned to his father's house for some months, Saul might not recognize him.

And David came to Saul, and stood before him,.... As a servant, and ministered to him in the way, and for the purpose for which he was sent:
and he loved him greatly; being a comely person, and a well behaved youth, and especially as he was serviceable to him with his music, in driving away melancholy from him:
and he became his armourbearer; that is, he appointed him to this office, though we never read that he exercised it; nor did he go with Saul in this capacity to the battle related in the following chapter: it may be literally rendered: "and he was to him a bearer of vessels", or "instruments" (q); and Abarbinel thinks this is to be understood not of instruments of war, but of instruments of music to play with; which he brought in and bare before him when he went in to the king.
(q) "et fuit ei ferens vasa", Montanus; "ferens instrumenta", Piscator.

David came to Saul--Providence thus prepared David for his destiny, by placing him in a way to become acquainted with the manners of the court, the business of government, and the general state of the kingdom.
became his armour-bearer--This choice, as being an expression of the king's partiality, shows how honorable the office was held to be.

Stood before him - That is, waited upon him. And he loved him greatly - So there was something good in Saul still: he had not lost all, tho' he had lost the kingdom. Armour - bearer - He had that place conferred upon him, though we do not read that he ever exercised it; for it seems he was gone back to his father upon some occasion not related; and had abode with him some considerable time before the war described, 1Sa. 17:1-53, happened.