1 Chronicles 10:9
New International Version
They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people.

New Living Translation
So they stripped off Saul’s armor and cut off his head. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death before their idols and to the people throughout the land of Philistia.

English Standard Version
And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.

Berean Standard Bible
They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people.

King James Bible
And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people.

New King James Version
And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people.

New American Standard Bible
So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.

NASB 1995
So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.

NASB 1977
So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.

Legacy Standard Bible
So they stripped him and took his head and his weapons and sent them all around the land of the Philistines, to proclaim the good news to their idols and to the people.

Amplified Bible
So they stripped Saul and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to their idols and to the people.

Christian Standard Bible
They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news to their idols and the people.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news to their idols and their people.

American Standard Version
And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto their idols, and to the people.

Contemporary English Version
they took Saul's weapons, pulled off his armor, and cut off his head. Then they sent messengers everywhere in Philistia to spread the news among their people and to thank the idols of their gods.

English Revised Version
And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto their idols, and to the people.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They stripped him and took his head and his armor. Then they sent men throughout Philistine territory to tell their idols and the people this good news.

Good News Translation
They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people.

International Standard Version
They stripped him, took his head and armor, and sent messengers throughout the territory of the Philistines to report the news to their idols and to the people.

Majority Standard Bible
They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people.

NET Bible
They stripped his corpse, and then carried off his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines proclaiming the news to their idols and their people.

New Heart English Bible
They stripped him, and took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to carry the news to their idols, and to the people.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines around, to carry tidings to their idols, and to the people.

World English Bible
They stripped him and took his head and his armor, then sent into the land of the Philistines all around to carry the news to their idols and to the people.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and strip him, and carry away his head and his weapons, and send [them] into the land of the surrounding Philistines to proclaim tidings [to] their idols and the people;

Young's Literal Translation
and strip him, and bear away his head, and his weapons, and send into the land of the Philistines round about to proclaim tidings to their idols and the people,

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will strip him and lift up his head, and his weapons, and send into the land of the rovers round about, to announce the good news to their images and the people.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when they had stripped him, and cut off his head, and taken away his armour, they sent it into their land, to be carried about, and shewn in the temples of the idols and to the people.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And when they had despoiled him, and had cut off his head, and had stripped his armor, they sent these things into their land, so that they would be carried around and displayed in the temples of the idols and to the people.

New American Bible
They stripped him, and took his head and his armor; these they sent throughout the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to their idols and to the people.

New Revised Standard Version
They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they cut off their heads, stripped them of their armour, and sent them to the land of the Philistines, throughout the towns and cities and provinces to carry the good tidings to their idols and to their people;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they picked up their heads and they stripped their armor and they sent to the land of the Philistines to the towns and to the cities and to the surroundings to proclaim the good news in the houses of their idols and among their people.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto their idols, and to the people.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armour, and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about, to proclaim the glad tidings to their idols, and to the people.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Philistines Possess the Towns
8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. 10They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 31:9-10
They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people. / They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

2 Samuel 1:20
Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

2 Samuel 4:10
when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!

2 Samuel 21:12
he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.

1 Samuel 31:8
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

1 Samuel 31:12-13
all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. / Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

2 Samuel 1:19
“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!

2 Samuel 1:21
O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.

2 Samuel 1:23
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions.

2 Samuel 1:25
How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

2 Samuel 1:27
How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”

1 Samuel 31:4
Then 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 was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

1 Samuel 31:6
So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.

1 Samuel 31:3
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.

1 Samuel 31:5
When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.


Treasury of Scripture

And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings to their idols, and to the people.

took

1 Chronicles 10:4
Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

1 Samuel 31:9,10
And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people…

2 Samuel 1:20
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

tidings

Judges 16:23,24
Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand…

Daniel 5:2-4,23
Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein…

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Announce Armor Armour Bear Carry Good Head Idols Messengers News Philistines Proclaim Round Strip Stripped Throughout Tidings War-Dress Weapons Word
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1 Chronicles 10
1. Saul's overthrow and death
8. The Philistines triumph over Saul
11. The kindness of Jabesh Gilead toward Saul and his sons
13. Saul's sin for which the kingdom was transferred from him to David














They stripped him
This phrase indicates the act of removing King Saul's royal garments and armor, symbolizing the complete defeat and humiliation of Israel's first king. In the Hebrew context, stripping a fallen enemy was a common practice, signifying total victory and the transfer of power. It also reflects the spiritual stripping away of Saul's anointing due to his disobedience to God, as seen throughout his reign.

and took his head
The taking of Saul's head is a gruesome act that underscores the Philistines' desire to utterly disgrace Israel. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, decapitation of a defeated king was a way to demonstrate dominance and to demoralize the enemy. This act is reminiscent of David's earlier victory over Goliath, where he also took the giant's head, symbolizing God's deliverance and victory over Israel's enemies.

and his armor
Saul's armor, once a symbol of his kingship and military might, becomes a trophy for the Philistines. The armor represents not only physical protection but also the spiritual protection that Saul lost due to his disobedience. The removal of his armor signifies the vulnerability and downfall of a king who once stood tall among his people.

and sent messengers
The Philistines' act of sending messengers highlights their intent to spread the news of their victory far and wide. In the ancient world, messengers were crucial for communication, and their role here is to ensure that the defeat of Israel's king is known throughout the Philistine territories, amplifying the psychological impact on both the victors and the vanquished.

throughout the land of the Philistines
This phrase indicates the widespread dissemination of Saul's defeat. The Philistines, Israel's long-standing enemies, sought to consolidate their power and influence by broadcasting their triumph. This act serves as a reminder of the constant threat Israel faced from surrounding nations and the consequences of straying from God's commandments.

to proclaim the news
Proclaiming the news was not just about sharing information; it was a declaration of supremacy and a call to celebrate the victory. In a spiritual sense, it contrasts with the proclamation of God's victories, which bring glory to His name and deliverance to His people. Here, the Philistines' proclamation is a temporary, earthly triumph that ultimately pales in comparison to God's eternal victories.

in the temple of their idols
The mention of the temple of their idols underscores the spiritual battle between the God of Israel and the false gods of the Philistines. By placing Saul's head and armor in their temple, the Philistines attribute their victory to their deities, challenging the sovereignty of the God of Israel. This act of desecration is a stark reminder of the spiritual warfare that underlies the physical conflicts in the Old Testament.

and among the people
The news of Saul's defeat is shared among the Philistine people, serving to bolster their morale and solidify their unity against Israel. This public announcement is intended to humiliate Israel and exalt the Philistines, yet it also sets the stage for God's redemptive plan through David, who would rise to lead Israel and restore the nation's faithfulness to God.

(9) And when they had stripped him.--Better, and they stripped him, and carried off his head, &c. Samuel, "and they cut off his head, and stripped his armour off." With the phrase "carried off his head," comp. Genesis 40:19, "Pharaoh will lift thy head from off thee," where the same Hebrew verb is used (yissa).

And sent (Saul's head and armour) to carry tidings unto their idols.--The verb bass?r is used of good and bad tidings, especially of the former, as in 2Samuel 18:19-20.

Unto their idols.--Samuel, "house of their idols." But the LXX. reading there is the same as here, ???? ????????. The expression of Samuel looks original, though it may have been copied by mistake from 1Chronicles 10:10. Note the strictly local conception of deities implied in this act of the Philistines; as if their idols could neither see nor hear beyond their own temples. (Comp. 1Kings 20:23; 1Kings 20:28; Psalm 94:9.) . . .

Verse 9. - And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour. Some comparing this with the parallel (1 Samuel 31:9), "They cut off his head, and stripped off his armour," say "our author" leaves the beheading unmentioned! It is certainly sufficiently implied. To carry tidings unto their idols. This sentence is more clearly explained, and brought into rather unexpected and perhaps unwished accord with the most modern of our ecclesiastical habits, when in the parallel as above, we find "to publish it in the house of their idols "as the form of expression.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They stripped Saul,
וַיַּ֨פְשִׁיטֻ֔הוּ (way·yap̄·šî·ṭu·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6584: To strip off, make a dash, raid

cut off his head,
רֹאשׁ֖וֹ (rō·šōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7218: The head

took
וַיִּשְׂא֥וּ (way·yiś·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

his armor,
כֵּלָ֑יו (kê·lāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3627: Something prepared, any apparatus

and sent
וַיְשַׁלְּח֨וּ (way·šal·lə·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

messengers throughout the land
בְאֶֽרֶץ־ (ḇə·’e·reṣ-)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

of the Philistines
פְלִשְׁתִּ֜ים‪‬ (p̄ə·liš·tîm)
Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 6430: Philistines -- inhabitants of Philistia

to proclaim the news
לְבַשֵּׂ֛ר (lə·ḇaś·śêr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1319: To be fresh, full, cheerful), to announce

[in the temple] of their idols
עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֖ם (‘ă·ṣab·bê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6091: An, image

and among their people.
הָעָֽם׃ (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock


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OT History: 1 Chronicles 10:9 They stripped him and took his head (1 Chron. 1Ch iCh i Ch 1 chr 1chr)
1 Chronicles 10:8
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