| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1The Philistines fought against Israel, and the army of Israel fled before the Philistines. They 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. |
| 2The Philistines pursued Saul and his sons. The Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, 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 heaviest fighting was directed toward Saul, and when the bowmen who were shooting located Saul, he was severely wounded by them. | 3Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; the archers spotted him and wounded him severely. |
| 4Saul told his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised people will come and run me through and make sport of me." But his armor bearer did not want to do it because he was very frightened, so Saul took the 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. |
| 5When his armor bearer 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. |
| 6As a result, Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day. | 6So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day. |
| 7When the men of Israel who were across the valley and who were across the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied 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. |
| 8The next day, the Philistines came to strip the dead, and 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. |
| 9They cut off his head and stripped him of his weapons. They sent people throughout the territory of the Philistines to report the good news in the temples of their idols and to 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. |
| 10They put Saul's weapons in the temple of Asherah and fastened his corpse 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. |
| 11When the residents 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, |
| 12every valiant soldier got up, traveled all night, and removed Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. Then they went to Jabesh and cremated the bodies 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. |
| 13They took their bones, buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for 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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