1
Samuel Chapter 18: 10-29
10 The next day an evil
spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David
was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the
wall." But David eluded him twice.
12 Saul was
afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. 13
So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the
troops in their campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had
great success, because the LORD was with him. 15 When Saul saw
how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel
and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
17 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!"
18 But
David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel,
that I should become the king's son-in-law?" 19 So when
the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage
to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now
Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was
pleased. 21 "I will give her to him," he thought,
"so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be
against him." So Saul said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to
become my son-in-law."
22 Then
Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is
pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.' "
23 They
repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to
become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."
24 When
Saul's servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul replied,
"Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine
foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' " Saul's plan was to have David fall by
the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the
attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So
before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David and his men went
out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full
number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his
daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When
Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy
the rest of his days.
