1 Samuel 31

1  NOW THE Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before [them] and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.2  And the Philistines pursued Saul and his sons, and slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons.3  The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers severely wounded him.4  Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword and thrust me through, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse and mock me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was terrified. So Saul took a sword and fell upon it.5  When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword and died with him.6  So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died that day together.7  And when the men of Israel on the other side of the valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the Israelites 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  The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.9  They cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor and sent them round about the land of the Philistines to publish it in the house of their idols and among the people.10  And they put Saul’s armor in the house of the Ashtaroth [the idols representing the female deities Ashtoreth and Asherah], and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.11  When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,12  All the valiant men arose and went all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan and came to Jabesh and cremated them there.13  And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1 Samuel 31

The Death of Saul

1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa.2 The Philistines stayed right on the heelst of Saul and his sons. Theyt struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua.

3 Saul himself was in the thick of the battle;t the archerst spotted him and wounded him severely.
4 Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me.” But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it.5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him.

6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day.

7 When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying deadt on Mount Gilboa.9 They cut off Saul’st head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines.

10 They placed Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtorethss and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,12 all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul’s corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and wents to Jabesh, where they burned them.

13 They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.