The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Samuel 31
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on
Mount Gilboa.
2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his
sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan,
Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of
Saul.
3 The battle went hard against Saul, and
the archers overtook him; and he was
greatly distressed by reason ofthe archers.
4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer,
“Draw your sword, and thrust me through
with it, lest these uncircumcised come and
thrust me through and abuse me!” But
his armor bearer would not, for he was
terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword
and fell on it.
5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul
was dead, he likewise fell on his sword,
and died with him.
6 So Saul died with his three sons, his
armor bearer, and all his men that same
day together.
7 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 fled and that Saul and his sons
were dead, they abandoned the cities and
fled; and the Philistines came and lived in
them.
8 On the next day, when the Philistines
came to strip the slain, they found Saul and
his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9 They cut off his head, stripped off
his armor, and sent into the land of the
Philistines all around, to carry the news to
the house of their idols and to the people.
10 They put his armor in the house of the
Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to
the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the inhabitants ofJabesh Gilead
heard what the Philistines had done to
Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose, 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 and burned
them there.
13 They took their bones and buried
them under the tamarisk† tree in Jabesh,
and fasted seven days.