1 Samuel 31:1–13

The Death of Saul

31^uNow the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^von Mount Gilboa. ²And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^wJonathan and ^xAbinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ^3yThe battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. ^4zThen Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^auncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^bfor he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^cand fell upon it. ⁵And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. ⁷And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, ^dto carry the good news ^eto the house of their idols and to the people. ^10fThey put his armor in the temple of ^gAshtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of ^hBeth-shan. ¹¹ⁱBut when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12jall the valiant men arose and went 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 ^kand burned them there. ¹³And they took their bones ^land buried them under ^mthe tamarisk tree in Jabesh and ⁿfasted seven days.