(1 Samuel 31:1–6; 2 Samuel 1:1–16)

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

² The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

³ When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him.

⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

⁵ When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died.

⁶ So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.

The Philistines Possess the Towns

(1 Samuel 31:7–10)

⁷ When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹ They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people.

¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.

Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul

(1 Samuel 31:11–13)

¹¹ When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹² all their men of valor set out and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak¹ in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

1. Or terebinth or great tree

¹³ So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,

¹⁴ and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.