[1] 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] The battle pressed
hard upon Saul, and the archers found him; and he was wounded by the
archers. [4] Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword, and
thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and make sport of
me." But his armor-bearer would not; for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul
took his own sword, and fell upon it. [5] And when his armor-bearer saw
that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword, and died. [6] Thus Saul
died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. [7] And when
all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and
that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; and
the Philistines came and dwelt in them. [8] On the morrow, when the
Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on
Mount Gilbo'a. [9] And they stripped him and took his head and his armor,
and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the
good news to their idols and to the people. [10] And they put his armor in
the temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.
[11] But when all Ja'besh-gil'ead heard all that the Philistines had done
to Saul, [12] all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul and
the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their
bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. [13] So Saul died for
his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the LORD in that he did not keep
the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance,
[14] and did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD slew him,
and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
