1 Samuel 18:19
ESV
But at the time when Merab, Saul 's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
NIV
So when the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
NASB
So it came about at the time that Merab, Saul’s daughter, was to be given to David, that she was given instead to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.
CSB
When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.
NLT
So when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
KJV
But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.
NKJV
But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.
What does 1 Samuel 18:19 mean?
King Saul had intended to use his older daughter Merab to keep David in Saul's service fighting the Philistines. Saul hoped that, eventually, David would die in battle. When David's humility wouldn't allow him to marry into the royal family, Saul found another use for her. He gives her to a man named Adriel from the town of Mehola.Merab and Adriel, whose name may mean "God is my help," will eventually have five sons. All will be executed when David turns them over the Gibeonites. This will be done to atone for Saul's sin of unjustly killing so many Gibeonite people, rather than honoring an agreement with them (2 Samuel 21:1–9).
Some translations use the word "but," which makes it seem as if Saul broke a promise to give Merab to David. But others use the word "so," implying that because David refused, Saul marries her to another. Either way, Saul's treatment of his daughters is harsh and political. He tries to use Merab to arrange David's death. When that doesn't work, he cynically uses his younger daughter, Michal, who genuinely loves David (1 Samuel 18:20–27). David still survives. Saul threatens David to the point that Michal must create a diversion so David can flee (1 Samuel 19:11–17). While David is on the run, Saul gives Michal to another man (1 Samuel 25:44).
