1 Samuel 31

₁The Philistines made war_against the people of Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and the Philistines killed many Israelites on Mount Gilboa. ₂The Philistines attacked Saul and his sons and they killed Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. ₃Then the Philistines attacked Saul with bows_and_arrows. They wounded him and Saul was afraid. ₄Saul said to his weapon-carrier: ‘Take your sword and kill me. I do not want these uncircumcised men to attack and kill me.’ But his weapon-carrier did not want to do it. He was afraid. Then Saul took his own sword and he fell on it. The sword pierced him and he died. ₅When his weapon-carrier saw that Saul was dead, he also fell onto his sword and he died with Saul. ₆This is how Saul and his 3 sons and his weapon-carrier and all his men died together that day. ₇When they told the Israelites on the other side of the valley and the Jordan River that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul was dead, they fled from their towns. The Philistines then came and they lived in those towns. ₈The next day the Philistines came to take the clothes and things of the dead people and they found Saul and his 3 sons on Mount Gilboa. Saul and his sons were dead. ₉They cut off Saul's head and they took his weapons. They sent it with messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to take the good news to the temples of their idols and to all their people. ₁₀They put Saul's weapons in the temple of Astarte and they hung his body on the wall in the town of Beth-Shan. ₁₁When they told the people of the town of Jabesh-Gilead what the Philistines had done to Saul, ₁₂all the brave men came and they walked together all night to Beth-Shan. They took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-Shan. They brought them to Jabesh and they burnt the bodies there. ₁₃They buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh. Then they fasted for 7 days.