1 Samuel 31

Living Bible

31 Meanwhile the Philistines had begun the battle against Israel, and the Israelis fled from them and were slaughtered wholesale on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines closed in on Saul and killed his sons Jonathan, Abinidab, and Malchishua.

^3-4 Then the archers overtook Saul and wounded him badly. He groaned to his armor bearer, “Kill me with your sword before these heathen Philistines capture me and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid to, so Saul took his own sword and fell upon the point of the blade, and it pierced him through. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that he was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul, his armor bearer, his three sons, and his troops died together that same day.

⁷ When the Israelis on the other side of the valley and beyond the Jordan heard that their comrades had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities; and the Philistines lived in them.

⁸ The next day when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor and sent the wonderful news of Saul’s death to their idols and to the people throughout their land.

¹⁰ His armor was placed in the temple of Ashtaroth, and his body was fastened to the wall of Beth-shan.

¹¹ But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done, ¹² warriors from that town traveled all night to Beth-shan and took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall and brought them to Jabesh, where they cremated them. ¹³ Then they buried their remains beneath the oak tree at Jabesh and fasted for seven days.