1 Samuel 18:17
ESV
Then Saul said to David, "Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord 's battles." For Saul thought, "Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."
NIV
Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"
NASB
Then Saul said to David, 'Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the Lord’S battles.' For Saul thought, 'My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.'
CSB
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, "I don’t need to raise a hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him."
NLT
One day Saul said to David, 'I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.' For Saul thought, 'I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.'
KJV
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.
NKJV
Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
What does 1 Samuel 18:17 mean?
For forty days, Saul and the army of Israel waited hopelessly as Goliath blasphemed their God and challenged them to single combat. Nobody stepped up to answer the giant's challenge to decide which nation would suffer enslavement (1 Samuel 17:1–13).The situation became so grim that, instead of fighting Goliath himself, Saul offered a massive reward to the man who could kill the Philistine champion. That reward included sizable wealth, an exemption for the man's family from taxes and forced service to the king, and the hand of Saul's own daughter in marriage (1 Samuel 17:25).
That exemption from forced service to the king is now an issue. The more David's popularity grows, the more Saul believes David is a threat. Saul is at the point where he wants David dead. He tried to do it himself but failed (1 Samuel 18:11). He wants to force David into battle so the Philistines will kill him. But he can't if David is exempt from forced military service.
But if David takes Saul's offer to wed Saul's daughter, David will be part of the royal court and under Saul's household. Saul can tell David to do whatever he wants. The only expense will be his daughter's heart.
