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!”

¹⁸ But David said to Saul, “Who am I,^(E) and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?^(F)” ¹⁹ So^[a] when the time came for Merab,^(G) Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.^(H)

²⁰ Now Saul’s daughter Michal^(I) was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased.^(J)

²⁷ David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal^(A) in marriage.

¹² So Michal let David down through a window,^(A) and he fled and escaped.