| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. | 1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. |
| 2Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. | 2The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. |
| 3The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. | 3Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; the archers spotted him and wounded him severely. |
| 4Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. | 4Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me." But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. |
| 5And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. | 5When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. |
| 6So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day. | 6So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day. |
| 7And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. | 7When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them. |
| 8So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. | 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. |
| 9And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. | 9They cut off Saul's head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines. |
| 10Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. | 10They placed Saul's armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan. |
| 11Now when the inhabitants 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 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. | 12all 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. |
| 13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. | 13They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days. |
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