“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Saul said, I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David, “You shall today be my son-in-law a second time.”
- KJV And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.
- NKJV So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.”
- NASB For Saul thought, “I will give her to him so that she may become a trap for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time you may become my son-in-law, today.”
- NLT “Here’s another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!” Saul said to himself. But to David he said, “Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Saul plans to give Michal to David as a snare, hoping the Philistines will kill him, and renews his son-in-law offer. His scheming hides behind a show of kindness.
Overview
Saul intends Michal's marriage to be a trap, expecting David to die at Philistine hands while pursuing the bride-price. He cynically offers David a second chance to become his son-in-law. The repeated plotting exposes a heart wholly bent against the Lord's anointed, yet God will preserve David through every snare Saul devises.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Sam 18:17Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
- Exod 10:7Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is in ruins?”
- 1 Sam 19:11–12Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”
- Jer 9:8Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- 1 Sam 18:26When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,
- Jer 5:26For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
- Prov 29:5A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- Ps 7:14–16Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
- Ps 38:12Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
- Prov 26:24–26A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 18:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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