The Death of Saul
1Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 3The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and the archers overtook him, and he was severely wounded by them. 4Saul 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 abuse me.” But his armor-bearer would not do it, for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6So Saul died, along with his three sons and his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day. 7When the Israelites 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 towns and fled. Then the Philistines came and occupied them. 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10They put his armor in the temple of Ashtoreth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
The Men of Jabesh-gilead Honor Saul
11When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all their fighting men set out and traveled all night. They took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall of Beth-shan, brought them to Jabesh, and burned them there. 13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
