1 Samuel 31

The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Sauls sons.3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people.10 Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,12 all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1 SAMUEL 31

Saul and His Sons Die

1 Meanwhile, the Philistines were fighting Israel at Mount Gilboa. Israel's soldiers ran from the Philistines, and many of them were killed. 2 The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

3 The fighting was fierce around Saul, and he was badly wounded by enemy arrows.

4 Saul told the soldier who carried his weapons, “Kill me with your sword! I don't want these worthless Philistines to torture and make fun of me.” But the soldier was afraid to kill him.
Saul then took out his own sword; he stuck the blade into his stomach, and fell on it.

5 When the soldier knew that Saul was dead, he killed himself in the same way.
6 Saul was dead, his three sons were dead, and the soldier who carried his weapons was dead. They and all his soldiers died on that same day.

7 The Israelites on the other side of Jezreel Valleyt and the other side of the Jordan learned that Saul and his sons were dead. They saw that the Israelite army had run away. So they ran away too, and the Philistines moved into the towns the Israelites had left behind.
8 The day after the battle, when the Philistines returned to the battlefield to take the weapons of the dead Israelite soldiers, they found Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa.

9-10 The Philistines cut off Saul's head and pulled off his armor. Then they put his armor in the temple of the goddess Astarte, and they nailed his body to the city wall of Beth-Shan. They also sent messengers everywhere in Philistia to spread the good news in the temples of their idols and among their people.
11 The people who lived in Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul's body. 12 So one night, some brave men from Jabesh went to Beth-Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons, then brought them back to Jabesh and burned them. 13 They buried the bones under a small tree in Jabesh, and for seven days, they went without eating to show their sorrow.