(1 Samuel 31:1–6; 2 Samuel 1:1–16)
1
And the Philistines have fought with Israel, and the men of Israel flee from the face of the Philistines, and fall wounded in Mount Gilboa,
2
and the Philistines pursue after Saul, and after his sons, and the Philistines strike Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-Shua, sons of Saul.
3
And the battle [is] heavy on Saul, and those shooting with the bow find him, and he is wounded by those shooting,
4
and Saul says to the bearer of his weapons, “Draw your sword and pierce me with it, lest these uncircumcised come and have abused me.” And the bearer of his weapons has not been willing, for he fears exceedingly, and Saul takes the sword, and falls on it;
5
and the bearer of his weapons sees that Saul [is] dead, and falls, he also, on the sword, and dies;
6
and Saul dies, and his three sons, and all his house—they died together.
The Philistines Possess the Towns
(1 Samuel 31:7–10)
7
And all the men of Israel who [are] in the valley see that they have fled and that Saul and his sons have died, and they forsake their cities and flee, and the Philistines come and dwell in them.
8
And it comes to pass, on the next day, that the Philistines come to strip the wounded, and find Saul and his sons fallen in Mount Gilboa,
9
and strip him, and carry away his head and his weapons, and send [them] into the land of the surrounding Philistines to proclaim tidings [to] their idols and the people;
10
and they put his weapons in the house of their gods, and have fixed his skull in the house of Dagon.
Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul
(1 Samuel 31:11–13)
11
And all Jabesh-Gilead hears of all that the Philistines have done to Saul,
12
and all the men of valor rise and carry away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and bring them to Jabesh, and bury their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fast seven days.
13
And Saul dies because of his trespass that he trespassed against YHWH, against the word of YHWH that he did not keep, and also for asking to inquire of a familiar spirit;
14
and he did not inquire of YHWH, and He puts him to death, and turns around the kingdom to David son of Jesse.
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