1 Samuel 31

Modern

Literal

Saul’s Overthrow and Death

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

¹And the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

²The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

²And the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

³When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.

³And the battle became fierce against Saul, and the archers found him—men with the bow—and he was wounded severely by the archers.

⁴Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!”

But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

⁴And Saul said to the bearer of his armor, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised ones come and thrust me through and torture me.” And the bearer of his armor was not willing, for he was greatly afraid. And Saul took a sword and fell on it.

⁵When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.

⁵And the bearer of his armor saw that Saul was dead, and he fell he also on his sword, and he died with him.

⁶So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.

⁶And Saul died, and his three sons, and the bearer of his armor, and all his men, that day together.

The Philistines Possess the Towns

⁷When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.

⁷And they saw—the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and who were beyond the Jordan—that the men of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead. And they forsook the cities and fled. And the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁸And it came to pass the next day that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people.

⁹And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people.

¹⁰They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

¹⁰And they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and his body they fastened to the wall of Beth-shan.

Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul

¹¹When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹¹And those dwelling in Jabesh-gilead heard about what the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan.

When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

¹²and all the valiant men arose and traveled all the 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 burned them there.

¹³Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

¹³And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.