²⁰ Now ^(A)Saul's daughter Michal ^(B)loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹ Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may ^(C)be a snare for him ^(D)and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time,^{[a] (E)}“You shall now be my son-in-law.” ²² And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law.’” ²³ And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, ^(F)“Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” ²⁴ And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” ²⁵ Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no ^(G)bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^(H)that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.’” ^(I)Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. ^(J)Before the time had expired, ²⁷ David arose and went, ^(K)along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. ^(L)And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. ²⁸ But when Saul saw and knew that ^(M)the Lord was with David, ^(N)and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him,

^9 (A)Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. ^(B)And David was playing the lyre. ^10 (C)And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

^11 (D)Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ^12 (E)So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. ¹³ Michal took ^(F)an image^[a] and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. ¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, ^(G)the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. ¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. ^(H)Why should I kill you?’”

²⁰ And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, ^(A)uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the ^(B)vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” ²¹ And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, ^(C)who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince^[a] over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your^[b] eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” ²³ And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.