[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 badly 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 thrust me
through, 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 with him. [6] Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his
armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. [7] And 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 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 three sons fallen on Mount Gilbo'a. [9] And
they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent messengers
throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to their
idols and to the people. [10] They put his armor in the temple of
Ash'taroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. [11] But
when the inhabitants of Ja'besh-gil'ead heard what the Philistines had done
to Saul, [12] all the valiant men arose, and went 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 burnt them there. [13] And they took their bones
and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
