| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New International Version |
| 1The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa. | 1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. |
| 2The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. | 2The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. |
| 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers caught up with him and severely wounded him. | 3The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. |
| 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 said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me." But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own 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 the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too 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. | 6So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same 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 Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns 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, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, 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 off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. |
| 10Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. | 10They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. |
| 11When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, | 11When the people 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. | 12all 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. |
| 13Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. | 13Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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