1 Samuel 31:12
New International Version
all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them.

New Living Translation
all their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies.

English Standard Version
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 burned them there.

Berean Standard Bible
all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

King James Bible
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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

New King James Version
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 burned them there.

New American Standard Bible
all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

NASB 1995
all the valiant men rose and walked 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 burned them there.

NASB 1977
all the valiant men rose and walked 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 burned them there.

Legacy Standard Bible
so all the valiant men arose and walked 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 burned them there.

Amplified Bible
all the brave men stood and walked all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and cremated them there.

Christian Standard Bible
all their brave men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
all their brave men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they arose, every mighty man, and they went all night and they took the body of Shaul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bayth Yashan and they brought them to Yabish and burned them there

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they rose up, even every man of might, and marched all night, and took the body of Saul and the body of Jonathan his son from the wall of Baethsam; and they bring them to Jabis, and burn them there.

Contemporary English Version
So one night, some brave men from Jabesh went to Beth-Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons, then brought them back to Jabesh and burned them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
All the most valiant men arose, and walked all the night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Bethsan: and they came to Jabes Galaad, and burnt them there:

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
all the fighting men marched all night and took the dead bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They came back to Jabesh and burned the bodies there.

Good News Translation
the bravest men started out and marched all night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, brought them back to Jabesh, and burned them there.

International Standard Version
every valiant soldier got up, traveled all night, and removed Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. Then they went to Jabesh and cremated the bodies there.

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.

Literal Standard Version
and all the men of valor arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come to Jabesh, and burn them there,

Majority Standard Bible
all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

New American Bible
all their warriors set out and traveled through the night; they removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and, returning to Jabesh, burned them.

NET Bible
all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul's corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them.

New Revised Standard Version
all the valiant men set out, traveled all night long, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They came to Jabesh and burned them there.

New Heart English Bible
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 brought them to Jabesh and burnt them there.

Webster's Bible Translation
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 came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

World English Bible
all the valiant men arose, 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 burned them there.

Young's Literal Translation
and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jabesh-gilead's Tribute to Saul
11When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. 13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 31:10
They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

2 Samuel 2:4
Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul."

1 Chronicles 10:12
all their men of valor set out and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

2 Chronicles 16:14
And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.

Amos 6:10
And when the relative who is to burn the bodies picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, "Is anyone else with you?" "None," that person will answer. "Silence," the relative will retort, "for the name of the LORD must not be invoked."


Treasury of Scripture

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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

burnt them there

2 Chronicles 16:14
And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.

Jeremiah 34:5
But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.

Amos 6:10
And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

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Arise Beth Bethshan Beth-Shan Bodies Body Burn Burned Burnt Fighting Jabesh Journeyed Night Rose Saul Saul's Shan Travelling Valiant Valour Walked Wall
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Arise Beth Bethshan Beth-Shan Bodies Body Burn Burned Burnt Fighting Jabesh Journeyed Night Rose Saul Saul's Shan Travelling Valiant Valour Walked Wall
1 Samuel 31
1. Saul, having lost his army, and his sons slain,
4. he and his armor bearer kill themselves.
7. The Philistines possess the forsaken towns of the Israelites
8. They triumph over the dead bodies
11. They of Jabesh Gilead recovering the dead bodies by night,
12. burn them at Jabesh,
13. and mournfully bury their bodies.














(12) And burnt them there.--This "burning the corpse" was never the custom in Israel, and was restricted to criminals convicted of a crime of the deepest dye (Leviticus 20:14). The Jews in all cases buried their dead. The Chaldee therefore interpret the words relating this act of the men of Jabesh-Gilead, in the case of Saul and the princes, as referring to the solemn burning of spices, a ceremony which was afterwards performed at the burial of some of the kings of Judah. (See 2Chronicles 16:14; 2Chronicles 21:19; Jeremiah 34:5.) But the language used in these cases is different; here it is expressly stated that "they burnt them." The reason for their thus acting is clear. The mutilated trunks had been exposed for some days to the air, and the flesh was no doubt in a state of putrefaction. The flesh here only was burned. The bones (see next verse) were reverently and lovingly preserved, and laid to rest beneath the friendly shade of the great tamarisk tree of Jabesh.

Verses 12, 13. - They burnt them. Cremation, though highly honourable among classical nations, is here mentioned for the first time in Holy Scripture, and was probably resorted to on this occasion to insure the bodies of Saul and his sons against further maltreatment, as, if buried, the Philistines might have made the attempt to get them again into their power. Some suppose that the burning of the dead was afterwards practised by the Jews, and quote in its favour 2 Chronicles 16:14; Isaiah 33:12; Jeremiah 31:40; Jeremiah 34:5; Amos 6:10, but these passages bear a different interpretation. After the exile, interment was the sole method of disposing of the dead among the Jews, and in the Talmud cremation is condemned as a heathen practice. The burial of the bones of Saul and his sons proves that their bodies here were really burnt. Under a tree. Hebrew, "under the tamarisk," the famous tree of that species at Jabesh. It was under one tamarisk that Saul commanded the massacre of the priests (1 Samuel 22:6), and now his bones are placed in rest beneath another. Perhaps the people remembered the king's fondness for trees. For the final fate of these relics see 2 Samuel 21:12-14. They fasted seven days (see Genesis 1:10). The time of mourning was thirty days for Aaron (Numbers 20:29) and for Moses (Deuteronomy 34:8). The Talmudic rule is strict mourning for seven days, less strict for the next twenty-three, in all thirty; and for a father or mother mourning was continued for a year. The fasting was mourning of the strictest kind, and proves that the people of Jabesh-Gilead honored to the utmost their deliverer.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

their valiant warriors
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

set out,
וַיָּק֜וּמוּ (way·yā·qū·mū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6965: To arise, stand up, stand

journeyed
וַיֵּלְכ֣וּ (way·yê·lə·ḵū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

all
כָל־ (ḵāl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

night,
הַלַּיְלָה֒ (hal·lay·lāh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3915: A twist, night, adversity

and retrieved
וַיִּקְח֞וּ (way·yiq·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

the bodies
גְּוִיַּ֣ת (gə·wî·yaṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1472: A body, corpse

of Saul
שָׁא֗וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

[and]
גְּוִיֹּ֣ת (gə·wî·yōṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 1472: A body, corpse

his sons
בָּנָ֔יו (bā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

from the wall
מֵחוֹמַ֖ת (mê·ḥō·w·maṯ)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2346: A wall of protection

of
בֵּ֣ית (bêṯ)
Preposition
Strong's Hebrew

Beth-shan.
שָׁ֑ן (šān)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1052: Beth-shean -- 'place of quiet', a place in Manasseh, West of the Jordan

When they arrived
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ (way·yā·ḇō·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

at Jabesh,
יָבֵ֔שָׁה (yā·ḇê·šāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 3003: Jabesh -- a place in Gilead, also an Israelite

they burned
וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּ (way·yiś·rə·p̄ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8313: To be, on fire

the bodies there.
שָֽׁם׃ (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither


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OT History: 1 Samuel 31:12 All the valiant men arose and went (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 31:11
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