1 Samuel 18:17 “Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give…”

1 Samuel 18:17

Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD’s battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

World English Bible

Saul said to David, “Behold, my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you as wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the LORD’s battles.” For Saul said, “Don’t let my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him.”

American Standard Version

And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah’s battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

Geneva Bible 1599

Then Saul sayd to Dauid, Beholde mine eldest daughter Merab, her I will giue thee to wife: onely be a valiant sonne vnto me, and fight the Lordes battels: for Saul thought, Mine hand shall not be vpon him, but the hand of the Philistims shalbe vpon him.

Darby Translation

And Saul said to David, Behold my eldest daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife; only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah's battles. But Saul thought, My hand shall not be upon him, but the hand of the Philistines shall be upon him.

Young's Literal Translation

And Saul saith unto David, 'Lo, my elder daughter Merab — her I give to thee for a wife; only, be to me for a son of valour, and fight the battles of Jehovah;' and Saul said, 'Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.'

Bible in Basic English

And Saul said to David, Here is my oldest daughter Merab, whom I will give you for your wife: only be strong for me, fighting in the Lord's wars. For Saul said, Let it not be through me that his fate comes to him, but through the Philistines.

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Cross references

“her will I give”

1 Samuel 17:25 Psalm 12:2 Psalm 55:21

1 Samuel 17:25 · BSB

Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his fath…

Psalm 12:2 · BSB

They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

Psalm 55:21 · BSB

His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

“the Lord's”

1 Samuel 25:28 1 Samuel 17:47 Numbers 32:20 Numbers 32:27 Numbers 32:29

1 Samuel 25:28 · BSB

Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.

1 Samuel 17:47 · BSB

And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

Numbers 32:20 · BSB

Moses replied, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle,

Numbers 32:27 · BSB

But your servants are equipped for war, and every man will cross over to the battle before the LORD, just as our lord says.”

Numbers 32:29 · BSB

And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, with every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as a pos…

“Let not mine”

1 Samuel 18:25 1 Samuel 18:21 Deuteronomy 17:7 2 Samuel 11:15 2 Samuel 12:9

1 Samuel 18:25 · BSB

Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king desires no other dowry but a hundred Philistine foreskins as revenge on his enemies.’” But Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.

1 Samuel 18:21 · BSB

“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”

Deuteronomy 17:7 · BSB

The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.

2 Samuel 11:15 · BSB

In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.”

2 Samuel 12:9 · BSB

Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own. You have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites.

Also

Numbers 21:14

Numbers 21:14 · BSB

Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon,

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

16But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he was leading them out to battle and back.

18And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel, that I should become the son-in-law of the king?”

Read 1 Samuel 18