| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa. | 1Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. |
| 2The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. | 2The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. |
| 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers caught up with him and severely wounded him. | 3The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. |
| 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 groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid 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 his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. |
| 6So on that day, Saul died together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men. | 6So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all 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 on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. |
| 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 went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons 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. | 9So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death in their pagan temple and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. |
| 10Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. | 10They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan. |
| 11When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, | 11But when 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 mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies. |
| 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 beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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