Chapter 31

Saul and His Sons Slain

1 aNow the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain bon Mount Gilboa.

2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines 1killed aJonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul.

3 aThe battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers 1hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers.

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

5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him.

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

7 When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and lived in them.

8 It came about on the 1next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

9 They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them 1throughout the land of the Philistines, ato carry the good news bto the house of their idols and to the people.

10 They put his weapons in the 1temple of aAshtaroth, and bthey fastened his body to the wall of cBeth-shan.

11 Now when athe inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard 1what the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 aall the valiant men rose and walked 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 and bburned them there.

13 They took their bones and aburied them under bthe tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and cfasted seven days.