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Saul’s Death

10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel. The Israelites fled before the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines stayed right on the heels of[a] Saul and his sons. They[b] struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. The battle was thick[c] around Saul; the archers spotted him and wounded him.[d] Saul told his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and stab me with it. Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come and torture me.”[e] But his armor-bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. So Saul and his three sons died; his whole household[f] died together. When all the Israelites who were in the valley saw that the army[g] had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. They stripped his corpse, and then carried off his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines proclaiming the news to their idols and their people. 10 They placed his armor in the temple of their gods[h] and hung his head in the temple of Dagon. 11 When all the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the warriors went and recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons[i] and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their remains[j] under the oak tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days.

13 So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord’s instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits.[k] 14 He did not seek the Lord’s guidance, so the Lord[l] killed him and transferred the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 10:2 tn Heb “stuck close after.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 10:2 tn Heb “the Philistines.” The translation has substituted the pronoun “they” to avoid redundancy.
  3. 1 Chronicles 10:3 tn Heb “heavy.”
  4. 1 Chronicles 10:3 tn Heb “and they found him, the ones who shoot with the bow, and he was in pain from the ones shooting.”
  5. 1 Chronicles 10:4 tn Heb “so these uncircumcised ones might not come and abuse me.”
  6. 1 Chronicles 10:6 tn Heb “all his house.” This is probably to be understood as a general summary statement. It could include other males in Saul’s household besides his three sons, cf. 1 Sam 31:6. If it refers only to the male members of his household who would have stood in succession to the throne (cf. NLT, “bringing his dynasty to an end,”) even here there is an exception, since one of Saul’s sons, Eshbaal (or “Ishbosheth” in 2 Sam 2:8) was not killed in the battle and became king over Israel, which he ruled for two years (2 Sam 2:10) until he was assassinated by Rechab and Baanah (2 Sam 4:5-6). The tribe of Judah never acknowledged Ishbosheth as king; instead they followed David (2 Sam 2:10).
  7. 1 Chronicles 10:7 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the army) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. 1 Chronicles 10:10 tn Or “god.” The Hebrew term may be translated as singular or plural depending on the context.
  9. 1 Chronicles 10:12 tn Heb “arose and carried away the corpse of Saul and the corpses of his sons.”
  10. 1 Chronicles 10:12 tn Heb “their bones.”
  11. 1 Chronicles 10:13 tn Heb “and Saul died in his unfaithfulness by which he acted unfaithfully against the Lord, concerning the Lord’s message which he did not keep, also to inquire of a medium to seek [an oracle].” The LXX adds “and the prophet Samuel answered him.” The text alludes to the incident recorded in 1 Sam 28.
  12. 1 Chronicles 10:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

Death of Saul and His Sons

10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.(A) The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard on Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer was unwilling, for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.(B) When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army[a] had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them.

The next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.(C) 11 But when all Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant warriors got up and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord; moreover, he had consulted a medium, seeking guidance,(D) 14 and did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord[b] put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 10.7 Heb they
  2. 10.14 Heb he