1Sa 31 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel , and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa .

1 Samuel 31

Saul and His Sons Slain

1 ^aNow the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain ^bon Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines ^{▼▼ Lit smote}killed ^dJonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul. 3 ^eThe battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers ^{▼▼ Lit found}hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 ^gThen Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise ^hthese uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. ⁱSo 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 Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

7 When the men 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 lived in them.

8 It came about on the ^{▼▼ Lit morrow}next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, 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 ^{▼▼ Lit into...around}throughout the land of the Philistines, ^lto carry the good news ^mto the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his weapons in the ^{▼▼ Lit house}temple of ^oAshtaroth, and ^pthey fastened his body to the wall of ^qBeth-shan. 11 Now when ^rthe inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard ^{▼▼ Lit about him what}what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 ^tall the valiant men rose and walked 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 ^uburned them there. 13 They took their bones and ^vburied them under ^wthe tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and ^xfasted seven days.