1 Samuel 31
31
The Death of Saul
1 # For ver. 1-13, see 1 Chr. 10:1-12 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain #ch. 28:4; [2 Sam. 1:6, 21; 21:12]on Mount Gilboa. 2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down #1 Chr. 8:33 Jonathan and #[ch. 14:49]Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3#[2 Sam. 1:6]The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4#[Judg. 9:54] Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these #See Judg. 14:3 uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, #[2 Sam. 1:14] for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword #[2 Sam. 1:10]and fell upon it. 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, #[2 Sam. 1:20] to carry the good news #[Judg. 16:23, 24]to the house of their idols and to the people. 10#[ch. 21:9] They put his armor in the temple of #See Judg. 2:13 Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of #Josh. 17:11Beth-shan. 11#2 Sam. 21:10; See ch. 11:1-11But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12#2 Sam. 2:4-7 all 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 #[2 Chr. 16:14; 21:19; Jer. 34:5]and burned them there. 13And they took their bones #2 Sam. 21:12, 14 and buried them under #[ch. 22:6] the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and #[Gen. 50:10]fasted seven days.
Currently Selected:
1 Samuel 31: ESV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV:
1 Samuel 31
31
Saul and his sons die in battle against the Philistines
1Meanwhile, the Philistines were fighting Israel at Mount Gilboa. Israel's soldiers ran from the Philistines, and many of them were killed. 2The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 3The fighting was fierce around Saul, and he was badly wounded by enemy arrows.
4Saul told the soldier who carried his weapons, “Kill me with your sword! I don't want those worthless Philistines to torture me and make fun of me.” But the soldier was afraid to kill him.
Saul then took out his own sword; he stuck the blade into his stomach, and fell on it. 5When the soldier knew that Saul was dead, he killed himself in the same way.
6Saul was dead, his three sons were dead, and the soldier who carried his weapons was dead. They and all his soldiers died on that same day. 7The Israelites on the other side of Jezreel Valley#31.7 Jezreel Valley: Hebrew “valley”. Shunem (see 28.4) and Gilboa (see verse 1) were across the Jezreel Valley from each other. and the other side of the Jordan learnt that Saul and his sons were dead. They saw that the Israelite army had run away. So they ran away too, and the Philistines moved into the towns the Israelites had left behind.
8The day after the battle, when the Philistines returned to the battlefield to take the weapons of the dead Israelite soldiers, they found Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. 9-10The Philistines cut off Saul's head and pulled off his armour. Then they put his armour in the temple of the goddess Astarte, and they nailed his body to the city wall of Beth-Shan. They also sent messengers everywhere in Philistia to spread the good news in the temples of their idols and among their people.
11The people who lived in Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul's body. 12So one night, some brave men from Jabesh went to Beth-Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons, then brought them back to Jabesh and burnt them. 13They buried the bones under a small tree in Jabesh, and for seven days, they went without eating to show their sorrow.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012