1 Samuel 31
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
Later, the Philistines again fought against the Israelis. The Israelis ran away from them, and (many Israelis were killed/the Philistines killed many Israelis) on Gilboa Mountain.
2 The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
The Philistines caught up with Saul and his three sons, and they killed [all three of] his sons, Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua.
3 When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.
The fighting was very fierce around Saul. When the Philistine (archers/men with bows and arrows) caught up with Saul, they wounded him badly [with their arrows].
4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, 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.
Saul said to the man who was carrying his weapons, “Take out your sword and kill me with it, in order that these heathen Philistines will not be able to thrust their swords into me and make fun of me [while I am dying].” But the man who was carrying Saul’s weapons was terrified, and refused to do that. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. [The sword pierced his body and he died].
5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.
When the man carrying his weapons saw that Saul was dead, he also threw himself on his own sword and died.
6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.
So Saul, three of his sons, and the man who carried Saul’s weapons, all died on that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.
When the Israeli people on the north side of the [Jezreel] Valley and on the east side of the Jordan [River] heard that the Israeli army had run away and that Saul and his sons had died, they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and occupied their towns.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
The next day, when the Philistines came to take away the weapons of the dead [Israeli soldiers], they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Gilboa Mountain.
9 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 cut off Saul’s head and took his weapons. Then they sent messengers throughout their land, to proclaim the news, in the temple where they kept their idols, and to the other people, [that their army had killed Saul].
10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
They put Saul’s weapons in the temple of [their goddess] Astarte. They also fastened the bodies of Saul [and his sons] to the wall [that surrounded] Beth-Shan [city].
11 When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
When the people who lived in Jabesh in [the] Gilead [region] heard what the Philistines had done to Saul’s corpse,
12 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.
all their bravest soldiers walked all night to Beth-Shan. They took the corpses of Saul and his sons down from the city wall, and they took them back to Jabesh and burned the corpses there.
13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
They took the bones and buried them under a [big] tamarisk tree. Then they (fasted/abstained from eating food) for seven days.
