^15-16 When King Saul saw this, he became even more afraid of him; but all Israel and Judah loved him, for he was as one of them.

¹⁷ One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my oldest daughter Merab as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real soldier by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought to himself, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”