⁶ And the young man who told him said, ^(A)“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him.

⁴ The Philistines assembled and came and encamped ^(A)at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped ^(B)at Gilboa.

³¹ Now by chance a ^(A)priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. ⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. ⁶ Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together.

The Death of Saul

31 ^(A)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^(B)on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^(C)Jonathan and ^(D)Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ^3 (E)The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. ^4 (F)Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^(G)uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^(H)for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^(I)and fell upon it. ⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶ Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. ⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁹ and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to ^(A)Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not ^(B)his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”

³ So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.