1 Samuel 31 GNV
Summary: The Philistines engage Israel in battle at Mount Gilboa, and the Israelite army is routed, with many men, including Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, killed in the fighting. Saul himself is critically wounded by archers, and rather than risk capture and abuse by the Philistines, he asks his armor-bearer to kill him; when the armor-bearer refuses out of fear, Saul falls on his own sword, and the armor-bearer follows him in death. The Philistines find Saul's body the next day, behead him, display his armor in the temple of Ashtoreth, and fasten his body to the wall of Beth-shan, but the valiant men of Jabesh-gilead, remembering Saul's earlier rescue of their city, travel through the night to recover the bodies of Saul and his sons, burn and bury their bones under a tamarisk tree, and fast seven days in mourning.
1Now the Philistims fought against Israel, and the me of Israel fled away from ye Philistims, and they fell downe wounded in mount Gilboa.
2And the Philistims preassed sore vpon Saul and his sonnes, and slewe Ionathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua Sauls sonnes.
3And when the battel went sore against Saul, the archers and bowmen hit him, and hee was sore wounded of the archers.
4Then saide Saul vnto his armour bearer, Drawe out thy sworde, and thrust mee through therewith, lest the vncircumcised come and thrust me through and mocke me: but his armour bearer would not, for hee was sore afraid. Therefore Saul tooke a sworde and fell vpon it.
5And when his armour bearer sawe that Saul was dead, he fell likewise vpon his sword, and dyed with him.
6So Saul dyed, and his three sonnes, and his armour bearer, and all his men that same day together.
7And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they of the other side Iorden saw that the men of Israel were put to flight, and that Saul and his sonnes were dead, then they left the cities, and ran away: and the Philistims came and dwelt in them.
8And on the morowe when the Philistims were come to spoyle them that were slaine, they founde Saul and his three sonnes lying in mount Gilboa,
9And they cut off his head, and stripped him out of his armour, and sent into the land of ye Philistims on euery side, that they should publish it in the temple of their idoles, and among the people.
10And they layed vp his armour in the house of Ashtaroth, but they hanged vp his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
11When the inhabitants of Iabesh Gilead heard, what the Philistims had done to Saul,
12Then they arose (as many as were strong men) and went all night, and tooke the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sonnes, from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Iabesh, and burnt them there,
13And tooke their bones and buried them vnder a tree at Iabesh, and fasted seuen dayes.
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