The House of Saul, Dead and Buried^(A)

31 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and Israel’s fighting men fled before the Philistines and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul’s sons. ³ The battle was heavy against Saul. The archers found him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me.”

But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell upon it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul died with his three sons and his armor bearer, together with all his men on that same day.

⁷ When Israel’s fighting men who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that Israel’s fighting men fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. So the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ The following day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about, to make it known in the house of their idols and among their people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the house of Ashtoreth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹ When the inhabitants 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 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 they mourned, fasting seven days.

The Death of Saul^(A)

10 Now when the Philistines fought against Israel, every Israelite fighter fled before the Philistines, and the slain fell on Mount Gilboa. ² But the Philistines pursued Saul and his sons and struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. ³ As the battle with Saul became heavy, the archers’ bows found their target and mortally wounded him.

⁴ So Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through lest these uncircumcised Philistines come and make a fool of me.”

But his armor bearer was unwilling to do it because he was overwhelmed with fear, so Saul took the sword and fell on it himself. ⁵ When the armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. ⁶ Thus, Saul and his three sons, namely all his house, died together.

⁷ Now when all the children of Israel in the valley saw that they had fled the battlefield, and Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and escaped, leaving the Philistines to come and dwell in them.

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to pillage the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they stripped Saul, removed his head and his armor, and circulated the news of his demise throughout the land of the Philistines to their idols as well as the people. ¹⁰ Then they placed his armor in the temple of their gods, while his head they impaled in the house of Dagon.

¹¹ Now all Jabesh Gilead heard about everything the Philistines did to Saul, ¹² so their valiant men rose up and carried the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted, mourning seven days.

¹³ So Saul died because of his unfaithful deeds against the Lord, because of his failure to keep the word of the Lord, and because he sought to consult a spirit of divination