⁴ Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at ^(A)Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at ^(B)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was ^(C)afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶ And when Saul inquired of the Lord, ^(D)the Lord did not answer him, either by ^(E)dreams or ^(F)by Urim or by the prophets.

⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, ^(G)that I may go to her and inquire of her.”

And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”

Saul Consults a Medium^(A)

³ Now ^(B)Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in ^(C)Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put ^(D)the mediums and the spiritists out of the land.

⁸ So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And ^(A)he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

⁹ Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has ^(B)cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”

¹⁰ And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”

¹³ And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”

And the woman said to Saul, “I saw ^(C)a^[a] spirit ascending out of the earth.”

¹⁴ So he said to her, “What is his form?”

And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with ^(D)a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.

¹⁵ Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you ^(A)disturbed me by bringing me up?”

And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and ^(B)God has departed from me and ^(C)does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

¹⁶ Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And the Lord has done for ^[a]Himself ^(D)as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ^18 (E)Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon ^(F)Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with ^(G)me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

²⁰ Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.

²¹ And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have ^(H)put my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me. ²² Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.”

²³ But he refused and said, “I will not eat.”

So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. ²⁴ Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. ²⁵ So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons^(A)

31 Now ^(B)the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount ^(C)Gilboa. ² Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed ^(D)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. ^3 (E)The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers ^[a]hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

^4 (F)Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest ^(G)these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and ^[b]abuse me.”

But his armorbearer would not, ^(H)for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and ^(I)fell on it. ⁵ And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. ⁶ So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. ⁸ So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to ^(J)proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. ^10 (K)Then they put his armor in the temple of the ^(L)Ashtoreths, and ^(M)they fastened his body to the wall of ^(N)Beth^[c] Shan.

^11 (O)Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (P)all the valiant men arose and traveled 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 ^(Q)burned them there. ¹³ Then they took their bones and ^(R)buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, ^(S)and fasted seven days.

¹³ So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had ^[a]committed against the Lord, ^(A)because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because ^(B)he consulted a medium for guidance. ¹⁴ But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and ^(C)turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

^4 (A)Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came ^(B)from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was ^(C)Mephibosheth.^[a]

The Report of Saul’s Death

1 Now it came to pass after the ^(A)death of Saul, when David had returned from ^(B)the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, ² on the third day, behold, it happened that ^(C)a man came from Saul’s camp ^(D)with his clothes ^[a]torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he ^(E)fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

³ And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”

So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴ Then David said to him, ^(F)“How did the matter go? Please tell me.”

And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and ^(G)Jonathan his son are dead also.”

⁵ So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

⁶ Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on ^(H)Mount Gilboa, there was ^(I)Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. ⁷ Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for ^[b]anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ ¹⁰ So I stood over him and ^(J)killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and ^(K)tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they ^(L)mourned and wept and ^(M)fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the ^(N)people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³ Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”

And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

¹⁴ So David said to him, “How ^(O)was it you were not ^(P)afraid to ^(Q)put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ Then ^(R)David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. ¹⁶ So David said to him, ^(S)“Your blood is on your own head, for ^(T)your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

The Song of the Bow

¹⁷ Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, ^18 (U)and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written ^(V)in the Book ^[c]of Jasher: