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.

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:

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ^(A)

^18 (B)And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹ So they answered and said, ^(C)“John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

²⁰ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

^(D)Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(E)

^21 (F)And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, ²² saying, ^(G)“The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him^(H)

^23 (I)Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross ^[a]daily, and follow Me. ^24 (J)For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ^25 (K)For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ^26 (L)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ^(M)ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. ^27 (N)But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount^(O)

^28 (P)Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. ³⁰ And behold, two men talked with Him, who were ^(Q)Moses and ^(R)Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of His ^[b]decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² But Peter and those with him ^(S)were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. ³³ Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three ^[c]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

³⁴ While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the ^(T)cloud. ³⁵ And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ^(U)“This is ^[d]My beloved Son. ^(V)Hear Him!” ³⁶ When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. ^(W)But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

A Boy Is Healed^(X)

^37 (Y)Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. ³⁸ Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. ⁴⁰ So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹ Then Jesus answered and said, “O ^[e]faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and ^[f]bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.

Jesus Again Predicts His Death^(Z)

⁴³ And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.

But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, ^44 (AA)“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ^45 (AB)But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?^(AC)

^46 (AD)Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. ⁴⁷ And Jesus, ^(AE)perceiving the thought of their heart, took a ^(AF)little child and set him by Him, ⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(AG)“Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and ^(AH)whoever receives Me ^(AI)receives Him who sent Me. ^(AJ)For he who is least among you all will be great.”

Jesus Forbids Sectarianism^(AK)

^49 (AL)Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”

⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for ^(AM)he who is not against ^[g]us is on ^[h]our side.”