1 Chronicles 10:3
New International Version
The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him.

New Living Translation
The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him.

English Standard Version
The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers.

Berean Standard Bible
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him.

King James Bible
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.

New King James Version
The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers.

New American Standard Bible
The battle became severe against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was wounded by the archers.

NASB 1995
The battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was wounded by the archers.

NASB 1977
And the battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was wounded by the archers.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was wounded by the archers.

Amplified Bible
The battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was [mortally] wounded by the archers.

Christian Standard Bible
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers spotted him and severely wounded him.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers found him and severely wounded him.

American Standard Version
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers.

Contemporary English Version
The fighting was fierce around Saul, and he was badly wounded by enemy arrows.

English Revised Version
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The heaviest fighting was against Saul. When the archers got him in their range, he was wounded by them.

Good News Translation
The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded.

International Standard Version
The heaviest fighting was against Saul, and when the archers who were shooting located Saul, he was gravely wounded by them.

Majority Standard Bible
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him.

NET Bible
The battle was thick around Saul; the archers spotted him and wounded him.

New Heart English Bible
The battle grew fierce against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was wounded by the archers.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the battle prevailed against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers.

World English Bible
The battle went hard against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And the battle [is] heavy on Saul, and those shooting with the bow find him, and he is wounded by those shooting,

Young's Literal Translation
And the battle is heavy on Saul, and those shooting with the bow find him, and he is wounded by those shooting,

Smith's Literal Translation
And the war will be heavy upon Saul, and they shooting with bows will find him, and he will be wounded from those shooting.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the battle grew hard against Saul, and the archers reached him, and wounded him with arrows.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And the battle grew heavy against Saul. And the archers found him, and they wounded him with arrows.

New American Bible
the fury of the battle converged on Saul. Then the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded.

New Revised Standard Version
The battle pressed hard on Saul; and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers who were skilled in shooting with bows found him; and when Saul saw them, he was sore afraid of them.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the battle prevailed against Shaul, and the men archers who are very skillful to shoot with a bow found him, and when Shaul saw them, he was very afraid of their presence.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was in anguish by reason of the archers.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the battle prevailed against Saul, and the archers hit him with bows and arrows, and they were wounded of the bows.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Saul's Overthrow and Death
2The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him. 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 31:3-6
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically. / Then 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 was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. / When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him. ...

2 Samuel 1:4-10
“What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” / Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” / “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him. ...

2 Samuel 21:12-14
he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa. / So David had the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan brought from there, and they also gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. / And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.

1 Samuel 28:4-19
The Philistines gathered together and camped at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. / When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently. / He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. ...

1 Samuel 14:47-48
After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them. / He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of its plunderers.

2 Samuel 1:17-27
Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, / and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar: / “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen! ...

2 Samuel 2:4-7
Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” / So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead to tell them, “The LORD bless you, because you showed this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him. / Now may the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this. ...

2 Samuel 5:17-25
When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of him; but David learned of this and went down to the stronghold. / Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. / So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” “Go up,” replied the LORD, “for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand.” ...

1 Samuel 13:1-14
Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years. / He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home. / Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ...

1 Samuel 15:1-35
Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD. / This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt. / Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” ...

1 Samuel 17:1-58
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. / Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines. / The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them. ...

1 Samuel 18:6-9
As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments. / And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” / And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?” ...

1 Samuel 19:1-10
Then Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan delighted greatly in David, / so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there. / I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, so I can ask about you. And if I find out anything, I will tell you.” ...

1 Samuel 20:1-42
Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? How have I sinned against your father, that he wants to take my life?” / “Far from it!” Jonathan replied. “You will not die. Indeed, my father does nothing, great or small, without telling me. So why would he hide this matter from me? This cannot be true!” / But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.” ...

1 Samuel 22:6-23
Soon Saul learned that David and his men had been discovered. At that time Saul was sitting under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with his spear in hand and all his servants standing around him. / Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds? / Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has shown concern for me or revealed to me that my son has stirred up my own servant to lie in wait against me, as is the case today.” ...


Treasury of Scripture

And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.

went

1 Samuel 31:3-6
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers…

2 Samuel 1:4-10
And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also…

Amos 2:14
Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

archers [heb] shooters with bows

Genesis 49:23,24
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: …

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Anguish Archers Battle Bow Distressed Fierce Fight Fighting Find Found Grew Hard Heavy Hit Overtook Pressed Prevailed Reason Saul Shooting Sore Terrified Wounded
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1 Chronicles 10
1. Saul's overthrow and death
8. The Philistines triumph over Saul
11. The kindness of Jabesh Gilead toward Saul and his sons
13. Saul's sin for which the kingdom was transferred from him to David














When the battle intensified
This phrase sets the scene of escalating conflict. The Hebrew root for "intensified" is "כָּבַד" (kavad), which can mean to be heavy or burdensome. This suggests not just a physical intensification but a spiritual and emotional weight bearing down on Saul. Historically, this battle against the Philistines was a culmination of Saul's disobedience and rejection by God, as seen in earlier chapters. The intensification symbolizes the inevitable consequences of turning away from God's commands.

against Saul
Saul, the first king of Israel, was chosen by God but later rejected due to his disobedience. His life is a cautionary tale of how initial promise can be squandered through pride and failure to adhere to divine instruction. The battle being "against Saul" is not just a physical confrontation but also a spiritual one, representing the forces arrayed against him due to his own choices.

the archers overtook him
The archers, or "יֹרִים" (yorim) in Hebrew, were skilled warriors who could strike from a distance. Their overtaking of Saul signifies the inescapable reach of judgment. In a broader sense, this can be seen as the inescapable consequences of sin. The archers' arrows are reminiscent of the spiritual warfare that believers face, where unseen forces can strike unexpectedly.

and wounded him critically
The Hebrew word for "wounded" is "חָלַל" (chalal), which can also mean to profane or defile. This dual meaning underscores the depth of Saul's fall—not just a physical wound but a spiritual defilement. The critical nature of the wound signifies the finality of Saul's rejection by God. It serves as a somber reminder of the cost of disobedience and the importance of remaining faithful to God's calling.

(3) The battle went sore against Saul.--Literally, was heavy upon (Samuel, "unto") him, like a burden weighing him to the earth.

And the archers hit him.--Literally, And they that shoot with the bow came upon him; and he shuddered (Sam., "greatly") before the shooters. "He shuddered or trembled" (Deuteronomy 2:25). The verb is properly to writhe, travail (Isaiah 23:4). Saul's deadly terror was natural. He believed himself forsaken of God, and stood now, after a lost battle, beset by murderous foes, whom he could not reach. There was no chance of a fair hand to hand encounter. The Heb. word for "archers" is the same in both places in Sam. (morim); here a rarer form (yorim, 2Chronicles 35:23) fills the second place. The Philistines were from Egypt, and the bow was a favourite Egyptian arm. The hieroglyph for "soldier" (menfat) is a man with bow and quiver.

Verse 3. - The archers hit him. The literal translation would be, the shooters, men with the bow, found him. The context makes it plain that the meaning is that the arrows of the pursuers rather than the pursuers themselves "found" him, and these made him argue all the rest. To this our Authorized Version has jumped by the one word "hit" him. It is evident from ver. 8 that the Philistines did not find the body of Saul to recognize it till next day. And he was wounded of the archers. The radical meaning of the verb (חוּל) is rather "to twist" (torquere) or "be twisted," "writhe" (torqueri). And the meaning here is in harmony with it, that Saul trembled from fear or writhed with the pain already inflicted of the arrows. Hence the parallel passage couples with this same verb, the adverb מְאֹך.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When the battle
הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ (ham·mil·ḥā·māh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4421: A battle, war

intensified
וַתִּכְבַּ֤ד (wat·tiḵ·baḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3513: To be heavy, weighty, or burdensome

against
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Saul,
שָׁא֔וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

the archers
הַמּוֹרִ֣ים (ham·mō·w·rîm)
Article | Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3384: To flow as water, to lay, throw, to point out, to teach

overtook him
וַיִּמְצָאֻ֖הוּ (way·yim·ṣā·’u·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present

and wounded him
וַיָּ֖חֶל (way·yā·ḥel)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2342: To twist, whirl, to dance, to writhe in pain, fear, to wait, to pervert

critically.
הַיּוֹרִֽים׃ (hay·yō·w·rîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3384: To flow as water, to lay, throw, to point out, to teach


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OT History: 1 Chronicles 10:3 The battle went sore against Saul (1 Chron. 1Ch iCh i Ch 1 chr 1chr)
1 Chronicles 10:2
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