17. 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, “My hand doesn’t need to be against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
18. Then David responded, “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. When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.
20. Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David, and when it was reported to Saul, it pleased him.
21. “I’ll give her to him,” Saul thought. “She’ll be a trap for him, and the hand of the Philistines will be against him.” So Saul said to David a second time, “You can now be my son-in-law.”
22. Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”
23. Saul’s servants reported these words directly to David, but he replied, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law? I am a poor man who is common.”
24. The servants reported back to Saul, “These are the words David spoke.”
25. Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price except 100 Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’ ” Actually, Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.
26. When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,
27. David and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife.