1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
2The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
3The battle bore heavily against Saul, and the archers, men with the bow, found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.
4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was not willing, for he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.
5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.
6So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men as well, on that same day together.
7When the men of Israel who were across the valley and those 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; and the Philistines came and settled in them.
8On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent word throughout the land of the Philistines all around, to proclaim the good news in the house of their idols and among the people.
10They put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12all the valiant men arose and went 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.
13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
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