| Holman Christian Standard Bible | English Standard Version |
| 1The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa. | 1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. |
| 2The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. | 2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. |
| 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers caught up with him and severely wounded him. | 3The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers 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, 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. | 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. |
| 5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. | 5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. |
| 6So on that day, Saul died together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men. | 6Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. |
| 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. | 7And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. |
| 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 came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen 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 his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. |
| 10Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. | 10They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. |
| 11When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, | 11But when the inhabitants 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 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. |
| 13Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. | 13And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. |
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