¹⁷ Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter^(A) Merab. I will give her to you in marriage;^(B) only serve me bravely and fight the battles^(C) of the Lord.” For Saul said to himself,^(D) “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”

²¹ “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare^(A) 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.”