1 Samuel 31
31
The Death of Saul
1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines stayed right on the heels#tn Heb “stuck close after.” of Saul and his sons. They#tn Heb “the Philistines.” struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. 3 Saul himself was in the thick of the battle;#tn Heb “and the battle was heavy against Saul.” the archers#tn Heb “the shooters, men with the bow.” spotted him and wounded him severely.
4 Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me.” But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day.
7 When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying dead#tn Heb “fallen.” on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off Saul’s#tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse). head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines. 10 They placed Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths#sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3. and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul’s corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went#tc The translation follows the MT, which vocalizes the verb as a Qal. The LXX, however, treats the verb as a Hiphil, “they brought.” to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.
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1 Samuel 31
31
Saul and Jonathan Die on Mount Gilboa
1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malki-Shua, the sons of Saul. 3Saul was in the thick of the battle,#Literally “The battle weighed heavily on Saul” and the archers#Literally “the shooters, the men with the bow” spotted#Hebrew “found” him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4Then Saul said to his armor bearer,#Literally “the carrier of his weapons” “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!” But his armor bearer#Literally “the carrier of his weapons” was not willing to do so because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. 5And when his armor bearer#Literally “the carrier of his weapons” saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6So Saul died, and his three sons, his armor bearer,#Literally “the carrier of his weapons” and all his men together that same day.
7And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and 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 towns and fled. Thus the Philistines came and lived in them.
8And then#Literally, “And it happened” the next day, the Philistines came to strip the dead and they found Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. 9So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent messengers around in the land of the Philistines to proclaim victory in the temples#Or “houses” of their idols and to the people. 10And they put his armor in the temple#Or “house” of the Ashtoreth,#Hebrew plural “Ashtaroth” (Ashtoreth was the female consort of Ba’al) and they fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan. 11When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard about it, what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all of the valiant men#Literally “the men of ability” set out and went all night and took the corpse of Saul and the corpses 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 in Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
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