| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. | 1Now the Philistines fought against Israel. The Israelites fled before the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. |
| 2The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. | 2The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. |
| 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him. | 3The battle was thick around Saul; the archers spotted him and wounded him. |
| 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. | 4Saul told his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and stab me with it. Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come and torture me." But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. |
| 5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died. | 5When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. |
| 6So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house. | 6So Saul and his three sons died; his whole household died together. |
| 7When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities. | 7When all the Israelites who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them. |
| 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. | 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. |
| 9They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. | 9They stripped his corpse, and then carried off his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines proclaiming the news to their idols and their people. |
| 10They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon. | 10They placed his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon. |
| 11When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, | 11When all the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, |
| 12all 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. | 12all the warriors went and recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their remains under the oak tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days. |
| 13So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, | 13So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD and did not obey the LORD's instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits. |
| 14and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. | 14He did not seek the LORD's guidance, so the LORD killed him and transferred the kingdom to David son of Jesse. |
|
    |