Passage

1 Samuel 18.20

Book: 1 Samuel · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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? 19. 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.

20. And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

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 a second time. 22. And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law. (1 Samuel 18:18-22, ASV)

WEB

18. David said to 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?” 19. But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife.

20. Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

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.” 22. Saul commanded his servants, “Talk with David secretly, and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore be the king’s son-in-law.’” (1 Samuel 18:18-22, WEB)

KJV

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? 19. 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.

20. And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ^{pleased him: Heb. was right in his eyes}

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. 22. And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son in law. (1 Samuel 18:18-22, KJV)

YLT

18. And David saith unto Saul, 'Who [am] I? and what my life, the family of my father in Israel, that I am son-in-law to the king?' 19. And it cometh to pass, at the time of the giving of Merab daughter of Saul to David, that she hath been given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

20. And Michal daughter of Saul loveth David, and they declare to Saul, and the thing is right in his eyes,

and Saul saith, 'I give her to him, and she is to him for a snare, and the hand of the Philistines is on him;' and Saul saith unto David, 'By the second, thou dost become my son-in-law to-day.' 22. And Saul commandeth his servants, 'Speak unto David gently, saying, Lo, the king hath delighted in thee, and all his servants have loved thee, and now, be son-in-law to the king.' (1 Samuel 18:18-22, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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TBD
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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

David and Jonathan Relationship Objection Defeater

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.