17 Saul told David, “Here is my oldest daughter Merab. I’ll give her to you as a wife(A) if you will be a warrior for me and fight the Lord’s battles.”(B) But Saul was thinking, “I don’t need to raise a hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”(C)

18 Then David responded, “Who am I,(D) and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 19 When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.(E)

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David Marries Saul’s Daughter

17 One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”

18 “Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David exclaimed. “My father’s family is nothing!” 19 So[a] when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.

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Footnotes

  1. 18:19 Or But.