1 Samuel 18:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Saul said to David, "Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord 's battles." For Saul thought, "Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."

NIV: Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"

NASB: Then Saul said to David, 'Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the Lord’S battles.' For Saul thought, 'My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.'

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

NLT: 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.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

For forty days, Saul and the army of Israel waited hopelessly as Goliath blasphemed their God and challenged them to single combat. Nobody stepped up to answer the giant's challenge to decide which nation would suffer enslavement (1 Samuel 17:1–13).

The situation became so grim that, instead of fighting Goliath himself, Saul offered a massive reward to the man who could kill the Philistine champion. That reward included sizable wealth, an exemption for the man's family from taxes and forced service to the king, and the hand of Saul's own daughter in marriage (1 Samuel 17:25).

That exemption from forced service to the king is now an issue. The more David's popularity grows, the more Saul believes David is a threat. Saul is at the point where he wants David dead. He tried to do it himself but failed (1 Samuel 18:11). He wants to force David into battle so the Philistines will kill him. But he can't if David is exempt from forced military service.

But if David takes Saul's offer to wed Saul's daughter, David will be part of the royal court and under Saul's household. Saul can tell David to do whatever he wants. The only expense will be his daughter's heart.

First Samuel 18:17–30 reveals the depths of King Saul's hatred toward David. When David killed Goliath, Saul thought he had a champion (1 Samuel 17). The moment they return from battle, however, the people's affections transfer to David, and the king grows furious. Saul's direct attempts to kill David fail (1 Samuel 18:6–16), so he uses his daughters to lure David into a fatal battle with the Philistines. Again, Saul's plan fails, and the king realizes God's protection over David is too great. Soon, Saul will watch as even his children favor David (1 Samuel 19).

Saul's son Jonathan becomes David's best friend. David succeeds in every military mission Saul sends him on. The people praise David as being even mightier than Saul. The king is furious and terrified that David will take his throne. After Saul's direct attempts to kill David fail, the king sends David to battle the Philistines using marriage to his daughter as bait. David not only survives, but he continues to prove himself to be a mightier warrior and leader than Saul. Saul knows the Lord is with David and not with him and cements himself as David's permanent enemy.

First Samuel 18 begins the story of how the changed work of the Holy Spirit on both Saul and David (1 Samuel 16:13–14) leads to the king's destruction and David's rise. David faithfully serves both Saul (1 Samuel 16:14–23) and Saul's kingdom (1 Samuel 17—18). But David wins the hearts of Saul's people and his children. Saul can't handle the competition (1 Samuel 19—20). Finally, David flees the royal court and raises his own army. He spends years fighting Israel's enemies from afar, patiently waiting until Saul dies in battle and the shepherd boy can take his rightful crown (1 Samuel 21—31).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.