1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. (1Sa 28:4; 2Sa 1:6; 2Sa 1:21; 2Sa 21:12; 1Ch 10:1)2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. (1Sa 14:49; 1Ch 8:33)3The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. (2Sa 1:6)4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. (Jud 9:54; Jud 14:3; 2Sa 1:10; 2Sa 1:14)5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.6Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.7And 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.8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.9So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. (Jud 16:23; 2Sa 1:20)10They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. (Jos 17:11; Jud 2:13; 1Sa 21:9)11But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, (1Sa 11:1; 2Sa 21:10)12all the valiant men arose and went 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 burned them there. (2Sa 2:4; 2Ch 16:14; 2Ch 21:19; Jer 34:5)13And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. (Ge 50:10; 1Sa 22:6; 2Sa 21:12; 2Sa 21:14)
1 Samuel 31
New International Reader’s Version
Saul takes his own life
1The Philistines fought against the Israelites. The Israelites ran away from them. But many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa.2The Philistines kept chasing Saul and his sons. They killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua.3The fighting was heavy around Saul. Men who were armed with bows and arrows caught up with him. They shot their arrows at him and wounded him badly.4Saul spoke to the man carrying his armour. He said, ‘Pull out your sword. Stick it through me. If you don’t, these fellows who aren’t circumcised will come. They’ll stick their swords through me and hurt me badly.’ But the man was terrified. He wouldn’t do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.5The man saw that Saul was dead. So he fell on his own sword and died with him.6Saul and his three sons died together that same day. The man who carried his armour also died with them that day. So did all of Saul’s men.7The Israelites who lived along the valley saw that their army had run away. So did those who lived across the River Jordan. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and made their homes in them.8The day after the Philistines had won the battle, they came to take what they wanted from the dead bodies. They found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa.9So they cut off Saul’s head. They took his armour from his body. Then they sent messengers through the whole land of the Philistines. They announced the news in the temple where they had set up statues of their gods. They also announced it among their people.10They put Saul’s armour in the temple where they had set up statues of female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They hung his body up on the wall of Beth Shan.11The people of Jabesh Gilead heard about what the Philistines had done to Saul.12So all their brave men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They brought them to Jabesh. There they burned them.13Then they got the bones of Saul and his sons and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh. They didn’t eat anything for seven days.