1 Samuel, Chapter 31:
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Verses from 1 Samuel, Chapter 31 of the book of 1 Samuel in the Bible.
Death of Saul and his sons
- 1. And it came to pass in the battle against the Philistines that the Israelites were defeated, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.
- 2. The Philistines pursued Saul and his sons, and killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.
- 3. The fighting intensified around Saul, until the archers struck him and seriously wounded him.
- 4. Then Saul commanded his armor-bearer, “Take your sword and kill me with it, lest I fall into the hands of these uncircumcised men and suffer shame.” But the squire was full of fear and did not want to do it. Then Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
- 5. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also threw himself on his sword and died beside him.
- 6. So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his soldiers died that day.
- 7. When the Israelites who were on the other side of the valley and east of the Jordan saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines then occupied them.
- 8. The next day, when the Philistines went to plunder the dead, they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa.
- 9. They cut off Saul's head, took his weapons, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people.
- 10. They displayed Saul's weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth and hung his body on the wall of Bethshean.
- 11. When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
- 12. the mighty men of Jabesh-gilead went to Beth-shean by night. They took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall of Bethshean and took them to Jabesh, where they cremated them.
- 13. Then they buried the bones under a tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days.
