^aNow the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded ^bon Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines ¹killed ^aJonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 ^aThe battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. 4 ^aThen Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise ^bthese uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. ^cSo Saul took ¹his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

7 Now when the people of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and settled in them.

8 It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them ¹throughout the land of the Philistines, ^ato bring the good news ^bto the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his weapons in the ¹temple of ^aAshtaroth, and ^bthey nailed his body to the wall of ^cBeth-shan. 11 Now when ^athe inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard ¹what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 ^aall 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 ^bburned them there. 13 And they took their bones and ^aburied them under ^bthe tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and ^cfasted for seven days.