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1 Samuel 31:1–4

Now athe Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down ||slain in mount bGilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew cJonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. And dthe battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. eThen said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest fthese uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and ||abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; gfor he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and hfell upon it.

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1 Samuel 31:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)

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 critically.

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

But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 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 mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely.

Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me.”

But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

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.”

But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)

The Philistines fought against Israel, and the Israelites ran away from them. Many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines fought hard against Saul and his sons, killing his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. The fighting was heavy around Saul. The archers shot him, and he was badly wounded. He said to the officer who carried his armor, “Pull out your sword and kill me. Then those uncircumcised men won’t make fun of me and kill me.” But Saul’s officer refused, because he was afraid. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers. Then said Saul to his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers came up with him; and he was much terrified by the archers. Then said Saul to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was much afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

When the Philistines were fighting against Israel, the men of Israel fled from the Philistines and were killed in battle on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up to Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. The heaviest fighting was against Saul. When the archers got him in their range, he was badly wounded by them. 

Saul told his armorbearer, “Draw your sword! Stab me, or these godless men will come, stab me, and make fun of me.” But his armorbearer refused because he was terrified. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel’s men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers caught up with him and severely wounded him. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me.” But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard upon Saul; the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by them. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through, and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer was unwilling; for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malki-Shua, the sons of Saul. Saul was in the thick of the battle, and the archers spotted him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!” But his armor bearer was not willing to do so because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

The Philistines fought against Israel. The men of Israel ran away from them. But many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa.

The Philistines kept chasing Saul and his sons. They killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. The fighting was heavy around Saul. Men who were armed with bows and arrows caught up with him. They shot their arrows at him and wounded him badly.

Saul spoke to the man who was carrying his armor. He said, “Pull out your sword. Stick it through me. If you don’t, those fellows who aren’t circumcised will come. They’ll stick their swords through me and hurt me badly.”

But the man was terrified. He wouldn’t do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:1–4 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul.

The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers.

Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it.


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