1 Samuel 31
New American Standard Bible
Saul and His Sons Killed in Battle
31 (A)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded (B)on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines [a]killed (C)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 (D)The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. 4 (E)Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise (F)these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. (G)So Saul took [b]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 died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
7 Now when the people of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and settled in them.
8 It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them [c]throughout the land of the Philistines, (H)to bring the good news (I)to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his weapons in the [d]temple of (J)Ashtaroth, and (K)they nailed his body to the wall of (L)Beth-shan. 11 Now when (M)the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard [e]what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 (N)all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and (O)burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and (P)buried them under (Q)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and (R)fasted for seven days.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 31:2 Lit struck
- 1 Samuel 31:4 Lit the sword
- 1 Samuel 31:9 Lit into...Philistines on all sides
- 1 Samuel 31:10 Lit house
- 1 Samuel 31:11 Lit about him, what
1 Samuel 31
New King James Version
The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons(A)
31 Now (B)the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount (C)Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed (D)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 (E)The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers [a]hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
4 (F)Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest (G)these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and [b]abuse me.”
But his armorbearer would not, (H)for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and (I)fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to (J)proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 (K)Then they put his armor in the temple of the (L)Ashtoreths, and (M)they fastened his body to the wall of (N)Beth[c] Shan.
11 (O)Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 (P)all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and (Q)burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and (R)buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, (S)and fasted seven days.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 31:3 Lit. found him
- 1 Samuel 31:4 torture
- 1 Samuel 31:10 Beth Shean, Josh. 17:11
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
