⁴ Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, and in her haste to flee it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.^(A)

³ The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”^(A)

³⁴ and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal became the father of Micah.^(A)

⁴⁰ and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal became the father of Micah.

⁶ Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.”^(A)

The Death of Saul and His Sons

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell^[a] 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 badly wounded by them.^{(B) 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 thrust me through 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.^{(C) 5} When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together on the same day. ⁷ 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 forsook 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 three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the houses of their idols and to the people.^{(D) 10} They put his armor in the temple of Astarte,^[b] and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.^(E)

¹¹ So David set out with his men early in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

The Philistines Reject David

29 Now the Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, while the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel.^(A)