1 Samuel 31
Expanded Bible
The Death of Saul(A)
31 The Philistines fought against Israel, and the ·Israelites [L men of Israel] ·ran away from [fled before] them. Many Israelites ·were killed [L fell slain] on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines ·fought hard against [overtook; closed in/bore down on] Saul and his sons, killing his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting was ·heavy [fierce] around Saul. The archers ·shot [L found] him, and he was ·badly [severely; critically] wounded. 4 He said to ·the officer who carried his armor [his armor bearer], “·Pull out [Draw] your sword and ·kill me [run me through]. Then those ·uncircumcised men [pagans] won’t ·make fun of [taunt; abuse] me and ·kill me [run me through].” But Saul’s ·officer [armor bearer] refused, because he was ·afraid [terrified]. So Saul took his own sword and ·threw himself [L fell] on it. 5 When ·the officer [his armor bearer] saw that Saul was dead, he ·threw himself [L fell] on his own sword, and he died with Saul. 6 So Saul, his three sons, ·and the officer who carried his armor [his armor bearer] and all his men died together that day.
7 When the Israelites who lived across the Jezreel Valley and those who lived across the Jordan River saw how the Israelite army had ·run away [fled], and that Saul and his sons were dead, they ·left [abandoned] their cities and ran away. Then the Philistines came and ·lived there [occupied them].
8 The next day when the Philistines came to ·take all the valuable things from the dead soldiers [L strip the dead/corpses], they found Saul and his three sons ·dead [fallen; lying] on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off Saul’s head and ·took [stripped] off his armor. Then they sent messengers through all the land of the Philistines to tell the [L good] news in the ·temple [L houses] of their idols and to their people. 10 They put Saul’s armor in the ·temple [L house] of the Ashtoreths [or Astarte; C a pagan deity] and ·hung [fastened] his body on the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people living in Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 the ·brave men [valiant/mighty warriors] of Jabesh ·marched [walked; traveled] all night and came to Beth Shan. They ·removed [took] the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and brought them to Jabesh. There they burned the bodies. 13 They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh. Then the people of Jabesh fasted for seven days.
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1 Samuel 31
Amplified Bible
Saul and His Sons Slain
31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was severely wounded by the archers. 4 Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised [Philistines] will come and pierce me through and abuse and mock me.” But his armor bearer would not, because he was terrified [of doing such a thing]. So [a]Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together on that day.
7 When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley [of Jezreel], and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the other men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and lived in them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to plunder the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his weapons and armor and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to bring the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 And they put Saul’s weapons and armor in the temple of the Ashtaroth (female goddesses), and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 When the [b]inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the brave men stood and walked all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and cremated them there. 13 They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted [as a sign of mourning and respect] for seven days.
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- 1 Samuel 31:4 In 2 Sam 1:10, an Amalekite claims to have killed Saul.
- 1 Samuel 31:11 Saul had rescued Jabesh-gilead from the attack led by Nahash the Ammonite (ch 11). This act of kindness was a thoughtful expression of their profound gratitude.
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