1 Samuel 31
Amplified Bible
Saul and His Sons Slain
31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was severely wounded by the archers. 4 Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised [Philistines] will come and pierce me through and abuse and mock me.” But his armor bearer would not, because he was terrified [of doing such a thing]. So [a]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 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together on that day.
7 When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley [of Jezreel], and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the other 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 The next day, when the Philistines came to plunder the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his weapons and armor and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to bring the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 And they put Saul’s weapons and armor in the temple of the Ashtaroth (female goddesses), and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 When the [b]inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the brave men stood and walked all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and cremated them there. 13 They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted [as a sign of mourning and respect] for seven days.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 31:4 In 2 Sam 1:10, an Amalekite claims to have killed Saul.
- 1 Samuel 31:11 Saul had rescued Jabesh-gilead from the attack led by Nahash the Ammonite (ch 11). This act of kindness was a thoughtful expression of their profound gratitude.
1 Samuel 31
New American Standard Bible
Saul and His Sons Killed in Battle
31 (A)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded (B)on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines [a]killed (C)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 (D)The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. 4 (E)Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise (F)these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. (G)So Saul took [b]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 So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
7 Now when the people 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 settled in them.
8 It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, 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 [c]throughout the land of the Philistines, (H)to bring the good news (I)to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his weapons in the [d]temple of (J)Ashtaroth, and (K)they nailed his body to the wall of (L)Beth-shan. 11 Now when (M)the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard [e]what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 (N)all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and (O)burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and (P)buried them under (Q)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and (R)fasted for seven days.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 31:2 Lit struck
- 1 Samuel 31:4 Lit the sword
- 1 Samuel 31:9 Lit into...Philistines on all sides
- 1 Samuel 31:10 Lit house
- 1 Samuel 31:11 Lit about him, what
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