1 Samuel 31 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons(A)

31 Now (B)the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount (C)Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed (D)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 (E)The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers [a]hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

4 (F)Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest (G)these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and [b]abuse me.”

But his armorbearer would not, (H)for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and (I)fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to (J)proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 (K)Then they put his armor in the temple of the (L)Ashtoreths, and (M)they fastened his body to the wall of (N)Beth[c] Shan.

11 (O)Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 (P)all the valiant men arose and traveled 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 (Q)burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and (R)buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, (S)and fasted seven days.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 31:3 Lit. found him
  2. 1 Samuel 31:4 torture
  3. 1 Samuel 31:10 Beth Shean, Josh. 17:11

Cross references

  1. 1 Samuel 31:1 : 1 Chr. 10:1–14
  2. 1 Samuel 31:1 : 1 Chr. 10:1–12
  3. 1 Samuel 31:1 : 1 Sam. 28:4
  4. 1 Samuel 31:2 : 1 Sam. 14:49; 1 Chr. 8:33
  5. 1 Samuel 31:3 : 2 Sam. 1:6
  6. 1 Samuel 31:4 : Judg. 9:54; 1 Chr. 10:4
  7. 1 Samuel 31:4 : Judg. 14:3; 1 Sam. 14:6; 17:26, 36
  8. 1 Samuel 31:4 : 2 Sam. 1:14
  9. 1 Samuel 31:4 : 2 Sam. 1:6, 10
  10. 1 Samuel 31:9 : Judg. 16:23, 24; 2 Sam. 1:20
  11. 1 Samuel 31:10 : 1 Sam. 21:9
  12. 1 Samuel 31:10 : Judg. 2:13; 1 Sam. 7:3
  13. 1 Samuel 31:10 : 2 Sam. 21:12
  14. 1 Samuel 31:10 : Judg. 1:27
  15. 1 Samuel 31:11 : 1 Sam. 11:1–13
  16. 1 Samuel 31:12 : 1 Sam. 11:1–11; 2 Sam. 2:4–7
  17. 1 Samuel 31:12 : 2 Chr. 16:14; Jer. 34:5; Amos 6:10
  18. 1 Samuel 31:13 : 2 Sam. 2:4, 5; 21:12–14
  19. 1 Samuel 31:13 : Gen. 50:10

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1 Samuel 31 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

31 And the Philistines are fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel flee from the face of the Philistines, and fall wounded in mount Gilboa, 2 and the Philistines follow Saul and his sons, and the Philistines smite Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul. 3 And the battle is hard ...
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1 Samuel 31 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

31 Forsooth the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the face of Philistines, and they fell down slain in the hill of Gilboa. (Then the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines, and they fell down dead on Mount Gilboa.) 2 And ...
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1 Samuel 31 - World English Bible (WEB)

31 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 S...
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1 Samuel 31 - The Voice (VOICE)

31 Meanwhile the Philistine and Israelite armies had clashed. The men of Israel ran away, but many of them were killed on the heights of Gilboa. 2 The Philistines even followed Saul and his sons and closed in on them; there they killed his sons, Jonathan (the beloved friend of David), Abinadab, and...
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1 Samuel 31 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Saul Killed on Mt. Gilboa31 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. Israel’s men fled before the Philistines and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3...
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1 Samuel 31 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Death of Saul and His Sons31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilbo′a. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abin′adab and Mal′chishu′a, the sons of Saul. 3 Th...
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1 Samuel 31 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Death of Saul and His Sons31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilbo′a. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abin′adab and Mal′chishu′a, the sons of Saul. 3 Th...
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1 Samuel 31 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Death of Saul and His Sons31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell[a] on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3 The ba...
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1 Samuel 31 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Death of Saul and His Sons31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell[a] on Mount Gilboa.(A)2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3 The ba...
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1 Samuel 31 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The Death of Saul31 Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. 3 The fighting grew very fierce...
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1 Samuel 31 - New Life Version (NLV)

Saul Kills Himself31 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. And the men of Israel ran from the Philistines and were killed and fell on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines came after Saul and his sons. They killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua. 3 The battle went against Saul....
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1 Samuel 31 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons(A)31 Now (B)the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount (C)Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed (D)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malch...
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1 Samuel 31 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Saul takes his life31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and ...
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1 Samuel 31 - New International Version (NIV)

Saul Takes His Life(A)31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.(B) 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons,(C) and they killed his sons Jonathan,(D) Abinadab and Malki-Shua.(E) 3 The fighting grew fierce arou...
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1 Samuel 31 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Saul Takes His Own Life31 The Philistines fought against the Israelites. The Israelites ran away from them. But many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines kept chasing Saul and his sons. They killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting was heavy around Sau...
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1 Samuel 31 - New English Translation (NET)

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