10 1 The battle of Saul against the Philistines, 4 In which he dieth, 6 And his sons also. 13 The cause of Saul’s death.

Then (A)the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

And the Philistines pursued after Saul and after his sons, and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua the sons of Saul.

And the battle was sore against Saul, and the archers [a]hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.

Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw out thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and mock at me: but his armor-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid: therefore Saul took the sword, and fell upon it.

And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon the sword, and died.

So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house, they died together.

And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley, saw how they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled away, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

And on the morrow when the Philistines came to spoil them that were slain, they found Saul and his sons [b]lying in mount Gilboa.

And when they had stripped him, they took his head and his armor, and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it unto their idols, and to the people.

10 And they laid up his armor in the house of their god, and set up his head in the house of [c]Dagon.

11 ¶ When all they of Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 Then they arose (all the valiant men) and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried the bones of them under an oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

13 So Saul died for his transgression that he committed against the Lord, (B)even against the word of the Lord which he kept not, and in that he sought and asked counsel of a [d](C)familiar spirit,

14 And asked not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 10:3 Hebrew, found.
  2. 1 Chronicles 10:8 Hebrew, fallen.
  3. 1 Chronicles 10:10 Which was the idol of the Philistines, and from the belly downward had the form of a fish, and upward of a man.
  4. 1 Chronicles 10:13 Or, witch, and sorceress.

Saul Takes His Life(A)

10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him.

Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.”

But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.

When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.(B)

11 When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead(C) heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the great tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

13 Saul died(D) because he was unfaithful(E) to the Lord; he did not keep(F) the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium(G) for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned(H) the kingdom(I) over to David son of Jesse.