18:17 1 Then Saul said to David, “Here’s my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior 2 for me and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul thought, “There’s no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!”
18:18 David said to Saul, “Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father 3 in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 18:19 When the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she instead was given in marriage to Adriel, who was from Meholah.
18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it 4 pleased him. 18:21 Saul said, “I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law.” 5
18:22 Then Saul instructed his servants, “Tell David secretly, ‘The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king’s son-in-law.” 18:23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words privately 6 to David. David replied, “Is becoming the king’s son-in-law something insignificant to you? I’m just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!”
18:24 When Saul’s servants reported what David had said, 18:25 Saul replied, “Here is what you should say to David: ‘There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his 7 enemies.’” (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.)
18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed 8 to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired 9 18:27 when David, along with his men, went out 10 and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king’s son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
1 tc Much of the
2 tn Heb “son of valor.”
3 tn Heb “Who are my relatives, the clan of my father?” The term חַי (khay), traditionally understood as “my life,” is here a rare word meaning “family, kinfolk” (see HALOT 309 s.v. III חַי). The phrase “clan of my father” may be a scribal gloss explaining the referent of this rare word.
4 tn Heb “the matter.”
5 tc The final sentence of v. 21 is absent in most LXX
6 tn Heb “in the ears of.”
7 tn Heb “the king’s.”
8 tn Heb “and it was acceptable in the eyes of David.”
9 tn Heb “the days were not fulfilled.”
10 tn Heb “arose and went.”
11 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.
12 tn Or “grant.”
13 tn Or “stands.”
14 tc The omission of “my” (μου, mou) after “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) is well attested, supported by א A C and the Andreas of Caesarea group of Byzantine
15 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.
16 tn Or “bright.” The Greek term λευκός (leukos) can refer either to the color white (traditional here) or to an object that is bright or shining, either from itself or from an outside source of illumination (L&N 14.50; 79.27).
17 tn On the interpretation of the stone, L&N 2.27 states, “A number of different suggestions have been made as to the reference of ψῆφος in this context. Some scholars believe that the white ψῆφος indicates a vote of acquittal in court. Others contend that it is simply a magical amulet; still others, a token of Roman hospitality; and finally, some have suggested that it may represent a ticket to the gladiatorial games, that is to say, to martyrdom. The context, however, suggests clearly that this is something to be prized and a type of reward for those who have ‘won the victory.’”
18 tn Or “know”; for the meaning “understand” see L&N 32.4.
19 tn Or “who overcomes.”
20 tn Grk “thus.”
21 tn Or “white robes.”
22 tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh), the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek.
23 tn Or “will never wipe out.”
24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
25 tn Grk “will confess.”
26 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
27 tn Grk “I will make him,” but the pronoun (αὐτόν, auton, “him”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
28 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
29 sn This description of the city of my God is parenthetical, explaining further the previous phrase and interrupting the list of “new names” given here.
30 tn Grk “The one who conquers, to him I will grant.”
31 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
32 tn Grk “I will give [grant] to him.”
33 tn Or “have been victorious”; traditionally, “have overcome.”