1 Chronicles 10
New American Standard Bible
Defeat and Death of Saul and His Sons
10 (A)Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines [a]killed Jonathan, [b](B)Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle became severe against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and abuse me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. (C)So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died. 6 (D)So Saul died with his three sons, and all those of his house died together.
7 When all the people of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
8 It came about the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 (E)So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor in the house of their gods and [c]impaled his head in the house of Dagon.
Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul
11 When all Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 (F)all the valiant men got up and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh; and they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
13 (G)So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also (H)because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of her, 14 and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and (I)turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 10:2 Lit struck
- 1 Chronicles 10:2 In 1 Sam 14:49, Ishvi
- 1 Chronicles 10:10 Or pinned up
1 Chronicles 10
International Children’s Bible
The Death of King Saul
10 The Philistine people fought against the people of Israel. The Israelites ran away from them. And many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines continued chasing Saul and his sons. And they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting became heavy around Saul. The archers shot him with their arrows and wounded him.
4 Then Saul said to the officer who carried his armor, “Pull out your sword and kill me. If you don’t, these men who are not circumcised will come and hurt me.” But the officer was afraid. So he refused to kill Saul. Then Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 The officer saw that Saul was dead. So he fell on his own sword and died. 6 So Saul and three of his sons died. All his family died together.
7 The Israelites living in the valley saw that their army had run away. And they saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and lived in those towns.
8 The next day the Philistines came to take valuable things from the dead bodies. On Mount Gilboa they found the bodies of Saul and his sons. 9 The Philistines stripped Saul’s body. And they took his head and his armor. They sent messengers through all their country to tell the news to their idols and their people. 10 The Philistines put Saul’s armor in the temple of their idols. And they hung his head in the temple of Dagon.
11 All the people living in Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. 12 So all the brave men from Jabesh Gilead went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them to Jabesh Gilead. Then they buried the bones of Saul and his sons under the large tree in Jabesh. And they gave up eating for seven days.
13 Saul died because he was not faithful to the Lord. He did not obey the Lord. He even went to a medium and asked her for advice. 14 He did this instead of asking the Lord for help. This is why the Lord put Saul to death and gave the kingdom to Jesse’s son David.
1 Chronicles 10
New King James Version
Tragic End of Saul and His Sons(A)
10 Now (B)the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, [a]Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. 6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together. 7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; then the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to [b]strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 (C)Then they put his armor in the [c]temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.
11 And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the (D)valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to (E)Jabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had [d]committed against the Lord, (F)because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because (G)he consulted a medium for guidance. 14 But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and (H)turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 10:2 Jishui, 1 Sam. 14:49
- 1 Chronicles 10:8 plunder
- 1 Chronicles 10:10 Lit. house
- 1 Chronicles 10:13 Lit. transgressed
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.