1 Samuel 18 · Verse 17

1 Samuel 18:17

And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
1 Samuel 18:17, King James Version

1 Samuel 18:17 in other translations

BSBThen 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.”
WEBSaul said to David, “Behold, my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you as wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the LORD’s battles.” For Saul said, “Don’t let my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him.”
ASVAnd Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah’s battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
YLTAnd Saul saith unto David, ‘Lo, my elder daughter Merab--her I give to thee for a wife; only, be to me for a son of valour, and fight the battles of Jehovah;' and Saul said, ‘Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.'
DARBYAnd Saul said to David, Behold my eldest daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife; only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah's battles. But Saul thought, My hand shall not be upon him, but the hand of the Philistines shall be upon him.
BBEAnd Saul said to David, Here is my oldest daughter Merab, whom I will give you for your wife: only be strong for me, fighting in the Lord's wars. For Saul said, Let it not be through me that his fate comes to him, but through the Philistines.
WebsterAnd Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee for a wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

What does 1 Samuel 18:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
17. Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife--Though bound to this already [1Sa 17:25], he had found it convenient to forget his former promise. He now holds it out as a new offer, which would tempt David to give additional proofs of his valor. But the fickle and perfidious monarch broke his pledge at the time when the marriage was on the eve of being celebrated, and bestowed Merab on another man (see on 2Sa 21:8); an indignity as well as a wrong, which was calculated deeply to wound the feelings and provoke the resentment of David. Perhaps it was intended to do so, that advantage might be taken of his indiscretion. But David was preserved from this snare.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 Fight the Lord's battles - Mr. Calmet properly remarks that the wars of the Hebrews, while conducted by the express orders of God, were truly the wars of the Lord; but when the spirit of worldly ambition and domination became mingled with them, they were no longer the wars of the Lord, but wars of lust and profanity.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 18:12-30

For a long time David was kept in continual apprehension of falling by the hand of Saul, yet he persevered in meek and respectful behaviour towards his persecutor. How uncommon is such prudence and discretion, especially under insults and provocations! Let us inquire if we imitate this part of the exemplary character before us. Are we behaving wisely in all our ways? Is there no sinful omission, no rashness of…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 18:12-30 →

1 Samuel 18:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
שָׁא֜וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
אֶל\־'el-toH413
דָּוִ֗דda.VidDavidH1732
הִנֵּה֩hi.Nehhere!H2009
בִתִּ֨יvi.Tidaughter myH1323
הַגְּדוֹלָ֤הha.ge.do.Lah<the> elderH1419
מֵרַב֙me.RavMerabH4764
אֹתָהּ֙'o.Tah<obj.> herH853
אֶתֶּן\־'e.ten-I will giveH5414
לְךָ֣le.Khato <the> you
לְאִשָּׁ֔הle.'i.Shahto a wifeH802
אַ֚ךְ'akhonlyH389
הֱיֵה\־he.yeh-becomeH1961
לִּ֣יliof me
לְבֶן\־le.ven-<into> a son ofH1121
חַ֔יִלCha.yilstrengthH2428
וְהִלָּחֵ֖םve.hi.la.Chemand fightH3898
מִלְחֲמ֣וֹתmil.cha.Mot[the] battles ofH4421
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וְשָׁא֣וּלve.sha.'Uland SaulH7586
אָמַ֗ר'a.Marhe saidH559
אַל\־'al-may notH408
תְּהִ֤יte.Hiit beH1961
יָדִי֙ya.Dihand myH3027
בּ֔וֹboon <the> him
וּתְהִי\־u.te.hi-and let it beH1961
ב֖וֹvoon <the> him
יַד\־yad-[the] hand ofH3027
פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים\׃\ \סpe.lish.Tim[the] PhilistinesH6430

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 18:17

  • 1 Samuel 17:25

    And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.

  • 1 Samuel 18:25

    And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

  • 1 Samuel 25:28

    I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

  • 1 Samuel 18:21

    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.

  • 1 Samuel 17:47

    And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

  • 2 Samuel 12:9

    Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

  • Psalms 12:2

    They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

  • Numbers 32:27

    But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord saith.

  • Psalms 55:21

    The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

  • Numbers 21:14

    Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,

  • Numbers 32:20

    And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war,

  • 2 Samuel 11:15

    And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
her will I give.
17:25; Ps 12:2; 55:21
valiant. Heb. a son of valour. the Lord's.
17:47; 25:28; Nu 32:20,27,29
Let not mine.
21,25; De 17:7; 2Sa 11:15; 12:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 18:16

    But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

  • 1 Samuel 18:17

    And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

  • 1 Samuel 18:18

    And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?

Read all of 1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo Saúl á David: He aquí yo te daré á Merab mi hija mayor por mujer: solamente que me seas hombre valiente, y hagas las guerras de Jehová. Mas Saúl decía: No será mi mano contra él, mas la mano de los Filisteos será contra él.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Saül dit à David: Voici ma fille aînée, Mérab; je te la donnerai pour femme; seulement, sois-moi un homme vaillant, et combats les combats de l’ Éternel. Or Saül disait: Que ma main ne soit pas sur lui, mais que la main des Philistins soit sur lui.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Saul sprach zu David: Siehe, meine älteste Tochter Merab, die will ich dir zum Weibe geben; nur sei mir ein tapferer Mann und streite die Streite Jehovas! Saul aber dachte: Meine Hand soll nicht wider ihn sein, sondern die Hand der Philister soll wider ihn sein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque Saul ad David: Ecce filia mea major Merob: ipsam dabo tibi uxorem: tantummodo esto vir fortis, et præliare bella Domini. Saul autem reputabat, dicens: Non sit manus mea in eum, sed sit super eum manus Philisthinorum.