1 Samuel 18:20-30

Evangelical Heritage Version

²⁰ Michal, Saul’s other daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about it, this situation pleased him. ²¹ Saul said, “I will give her to him, so that she will be a snare for him, and the hand of the Philistines will be against him.”

So Saul said to David, “Today you have another opportunity to become my son-in-law.”

²² Saul commanded his officials to speak with David privately and to say, “Look, the king is delighted with you, and all his officials love you, so you should become the king’s son-in-law.” ²³ Saul’s officials spoke those words to David’s ears.

But David said, “Does it seem to you to be a trivial thing for me to be the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and not highly regarded?”

²⁴ Then Saul’s officials told him what David had said.

²⁵ So Saul said, “Tell David that the king desires no price for the bride except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, for revenge against the king’s enemies.” Saul intended to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶ When Saul’s officials told David these words, David was very pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the deadline, ²⁷ David got up and went out with his men and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins and counted them out for the king, so that he could become the king’s son-in-law.

Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife. ²⁸ Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that Michal, his daughter, loved David. ²⁹ So Saul was even more afraid of David, and he was hostile to David all the time.

³⁰ The commanders of the Philistines were regularly going out for battle, and as often as they went out, David was more successful than all the other officers of Saul. So his name was highly regarded.