1 Chronicles 10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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) 2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle pressed hard on 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, 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) 5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. 6 Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. 7 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.
8 The next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 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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1 Chronicles 10
International Standard Version
The Death of Saul and His Sons(A)
10 The Philistines were fighting against Israel, and each[a] soldier[b] of Israel fled before the Philistines. They fell slain on the mountain of Gilboa. 2 The Philistines followed after Saul and after his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. 3 The heaviest fighting was against Saul,[c] and when the archers who were shooting located Saul, he was gravely wounded by them.[d]
4 Saul ordered his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised people will come and abuse me.”
But his armor bearer did not want to do it[e] because he was very frightened, so Saul took the sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his[f] sword and died. 6 Therefore Saul, his three sons, and all his entire household died together. 7 When that part of the army[g] of Israel that was in the valley saw that the rest of the[h] army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them.
The Philistines Desecrate Saul’s Body(B)
8 The Philistines came to strip the dead the next day, and they found Saul dead on Gilboa mountain, along with his sons. 9 They stripped him, took his head and armor, and sent messengers throughout the territory of the Philistines to report the news to their idols and to the people. 10 Then they put Saul’s[i] armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his skull to the wall of[j] the temple of Dagon.
The People of Jabesh-gilead Give Saul a Proper Burial(C)
11 When all the residents of[k] Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 every valiant soldier[l] got up, removed the bodies of Saul and his sons, took them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk[m] tree in Jabesh. Then they fasted for seven days. 13 So Saul died for his transgressions; that is, he acted unfaithfully to the Lord by transgressing the message from the Lord (which he did not keep), by consulting a medium for advice, 14 and by not seeking counsel[n] from the Lord, who therefore put him to death and turned the kingdom over to Jesse’s son David.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Chronicles 10:1 The Heb. lacks each
- 1 Chronicles 10:1 Lit. a man
- 1 Chronicles 10:3 Lit. was heavy toward
- 1 Chronicles 10:3 Lit. the archers
- 1 Chronicles 10:4 The Heb. lacks to do it
- 1 Chronicles 10:5 The Heb. lacks his
- 1 Chronicles 10:7 Lit. man
- 1 Chronicles 10:7 The Heb. lacks rest of the
- 1 Chronicles 10:10 Lit. his
- 1 Chronicles 10:10 The Heb. lacks to the wall of
- 1 Chronicles 10:11 The Heb. lacks the residents of
- 1 Chronicles 10:12 Lit. man
- 1 Chronicles 10:12 Or great
- 1 Chronicles 10:14 The Heb. verb to seek counsel sounds like the name Saul
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