| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa. | 1The Philistines fought against Israel, and the army of Israel fled before the Philistines. They fell slain on Mount Gilboa. |
| 2The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. | 2The Philistines pursued Saul and his sons. The Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul's sons. |
| 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers caught up with him and severely wounded him. | 3The heaviest fighting was directed toward Saul, and when the bowmen who were shooting located Saul, he was severely wounded by them. |
| 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me." But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it. | 4Saul told his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised people will come and run me through and make sport of me." But his armor bearer did not want to do it because he was very frightened, so Saul took the sword and fell on it. |
| 5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. | 5When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. |
| 6So on that day, Saul died together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men. | 6As a result, Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day. |
| 7When the men of Israel on the other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan saw that Israel's men had run away and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. So the Philistines came and settled in them. | 7When the men of Israel who were across the valley and who were across the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them. |
| 8The next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. | 8The next day, the Philistines came to strip the dead, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. |
| 9They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news in the temples of their idols and among the people. | 9They cut off his head and stripped him of his weapons. They sent people throughout the territory of the Philistines to report the good news in the temples of their idols and to the people. |
| 10Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. | 10They put Saul's weapons in the temple of Asherah and fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth-shan. |
| 11When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, | 11When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, |
| 12all 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. | 12every 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. |
| 13Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. | 13They took their bones, buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days. |
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