1 Samuel chapter 31
English Standard Version
1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 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 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. 5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 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 slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 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. 10They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11But when 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. 13And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
New International Version
1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.
4Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me." But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they 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 the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
New American Standard Bible
1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded on Mount Gilboa. 2And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. 4Then Saul said to his armor bearer, 'Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.' But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. 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. 6So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
8It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to bring the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10They put his weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they nailed his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they 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. 13And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
Christian Standard Bible
1The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel’s men fled from them and were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines pursued Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers found him and severely wounded him. 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. 5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. 6So on that day, Saul died together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men.
8The next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons dead 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. 10Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
11When the residents 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. 13Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
New Living Translation
1Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons — Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. 3The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely.
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 realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. 6So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day.
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. 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. 10They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.
11But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 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. 13Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
King James Version
1Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. 2And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. 3And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
4Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. 5And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. 6So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
8And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. 9And 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. 10And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.
11And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. 13And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
New King James Version
1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
4Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
7And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all the valiant men arose and traveled 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 at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
What does 1 Samuel chapter 31 mean?
As with most kings of the time, Saul's entire reign has been marked by war. The first recorded was against the Ammonites who had besieged Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 11). His most frequent opponent was the Philistines. Now, at the end, he faces the Philistines again. He has banished his greatest warrior (1 Samuel 20:42). He has seen the Philistine army before him, and he knows the strength of his men will fail (1 Samuel 28:5). God has abandoned him (1 Samuel 28:6). And he knows he and his sons will die in the battle (1 Samuel 28:19). And yet, he shows up, leading his army in a battle they cannot win.The description of Saul's final battle with the Philistines is brief. The massive Philistine forces (1 Samuel 28:1) attack Israel's position near Mount Gilboa. The Israelites are overwhelmed while attempting to flee up the mountain. Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua are killed, and Saul is critically wounded by Philistine archers (1 Samuel 31:1–3).
Saul realizes his time has come. But he doesn't want the Philistines to end his life. They would humiliate him. He orders his armor-bearer to kill him. Like David so many times before (1 Samuel 24:4–7; 26:11), the man refuses; he will not kill his king. So, Saul falls on his own sword, killing himself. After the king's suicide, his armor-bearer follows Saul's example. The people of Israel who live nearby, including on the east side of the Jordan River, hear the news and flee from their homes. The Philistines take the cities without a fight (1 Samuel 31:3–5).
The Philistines return to Mount Gilboa the next day to plunder the bodies. They discover the corpses of King Saul and his sons. They behead Saul's body and strip off his armor. Then they send messengers throughout the Philistine kingdom and to the temples of their gods with the good news: King Saul is dead, and the Israelites are defeated at last (1 Samuel 31:8–9).
The Philistines deliver Saul's armor as a trophy to the temple of their goddess Ashtaroth. They fasten his headless body and those of his sons to a wall in the public square at nearby Beth-shan. The people of the Israelite town Jabesh-gilead hear what the Philistines have done. They remember Saul's efforts on their behalf. Shortly after Saul had become king, the Ammonites had threatened to make them all slaves if they couldn't find a champion. Saul heard and gathered an army to fight the Ammonites and save Jabesh-gilead. The men of Jabesh-gilead return the favor. They bravely sneak into Beth-shan at night and remove the bodies. Back in Jabesh, they burn the remains of Saul and his sons and bury their bones under a tamarisk tree (1 Samuel 31:10–13).
Israel's defeat and Saul's death are God's judgment on Saul for disobedience. After the first violation, God declared Saul's descendants would not keep the throne (1 Samuel 13:8–14). After the second, that not even his son would be king (1 Samuel 15). After David killed Goliath, Saul realized God had chosen David to succeed him (1 Samuel 18:8). Despite Saul's best efforts, he couldn't kill David, and David refused to kill him.
Now, with the deaths of Saul and three of his sons, David's path to the throne is clear. David will mourn his king and his best friend, and then he will take the crown (2 Samuel 1—2; 5).
When first written, the books we now call "first" and "second Samuel" were part of a single text. They were separated to make them into more manageable volumes. First Samuel records the life of the last judge of Israel, Samuel, and the first king of Israel, Saul. Second Samuel records the reign of King David. The events of 1 Samuel 31 are also found in 1 Chronicles 10.
