1 Samuel 31
1 Later, the Philistines again fought against the Israelis. The Israelis ran away from them, and (many Israelis were killed/the Philistines killed many Israelis) on Gilboa Mountain.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel. The men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down dead on Mount Gilboa.
2 The Philistines caught up with Saul and his three sons, and they killed [all three of] his sons, Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua.
The Philistines closely pursued Saul and his sons. The Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, his sons.
3 The fighting was very fierce around Saul. When the Philistine (archers/men with bows and arrows) caught up with Saul, they wounded him badly [with their arrows].
The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers overtook him. He was in severe pain because of them.
4 Saul said to the man who was carrying his weapons, “Take out your sword and kill me with it, in order that these heathen Philistines will not be able to thrust their swords into me and make fun of me [while I am dying].” But the man who was carrying Saul’s weapons was terrified, and refused to do that. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. [The sword pierced his body and he died].
Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it. Otherwise, these uncircumcised will come and abuse me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
5 When the man carrying his weapons saw that Saul was dead, he also threw himself on his own sword and died.
When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died with him.
6 So Saul, three of his sons, and the man who carried Saul’s weapons, all died on that same day.
So Saul died, his three sons, and his armor bearer—these men all died together that same day.
7 When the Israeli people on the north side of the [Jezreel] Valley and on the east side of the Jordan [River] heard that the Israeli army had run away and that Saul and his sons had died, they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and occupied their towns.
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.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to take away the weapons of the dead [Israeli soldiers], they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Gilboa Mountain.
It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9 They cut off Saul’s head and took his weapons. Then they sent messengers throughout their land, to proclaim the news, in the temple where they kept their idols, and to the other people, [that their army had killed Saul].
They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent messengers into the land of the Philistines throughout to carry the news to their idols' temples and to the people.
10 They put Saul’s weapons in the temple of [their goddess] Astarte. They also fastened the bodies of Saul [and his sons] to the wall [that surrounded] Beth-Shan [city].
They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the city wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people who lived in Jabesh in [the] Gilead [region] heard what the Philistines had done to Saul’s corpse,
When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all their bravest soldiers walked all night to Beth-Shan. They took the corpses of Saul and his sons down from the city wall, and they took them back to Jabesh and burned the corpses there.
all the fighting men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They went to Jabesh and burned them there.
13 They took the bones and buried them under a [big] tamarisk tree. Then they (fasted/abstained from eating food) for seven days.
Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
