The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons
1 Nowthe Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on MountGilboa.
2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killedJonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.
3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lestthese uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.”
# But his armorbearer would not,for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword andfell 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 whowereon the other side of the valley, andthosewhowereon 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 sentwordthroughout the land of the Philistines, toproclaimitinthe temple of their idols and among the people.
10 Then they put his armor in the temple of theAshtoreths, andthey fastened his body to the wall ofBeth Shan.
11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 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 andburned them there.
13 Then they took their bones andburiedthemunder the tamarisk tree atJabesh, and fasted seven days.