1 Samuel 18:17–27

¹⁷Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter^t Merab. I will give her to you in marriage;^u only serve me bravely and fight the battles^v of the Lord.” For Saul said to himself,^w “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”

¹⁸But David said to Saul, “Who am I,^x and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?^y” ¹⁹So^b when the time came for Merab,^z Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.^a

²⁰Now Saul’s daughter Michal^b was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased.^{c 21}“I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare^d to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”

²²Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’ ”

²³They repeated these words to David. But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law?^e I’m only a poor man and little known.”

²⁴When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, ²⁵Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price^f for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge^g on his enemies.’ ” Saul’s plan^h was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.

²⁶When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, ²⁷David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michalⁱ in marriage.