| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. | 1Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of 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. | 2The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. |
| 3The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. | 3The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him. |
| 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. | 4Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to 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. |
| 5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. | 5When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died. |
| 6Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. | 6So Saul and his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to an end. |
| 7And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them. | 7When all the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley saw that their army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. |
| 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. | 8The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa. |
| 9And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. | 9So they stripped off Saul’s armor and cut off his head. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death before their idols and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. |
| 10And they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. | 10They placed his armor in the temple of their gods, and they fastened his head to the temple of Dagon. |
| 11But when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, | 11But when everyone in Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, |
| 12all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days. | 12all their mighty warriors brought the bodies of Saul and his sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones beneath the great tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. |
| 13So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. | 13So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD. He failed to obey the LORD’s command, and he even consulted a medium |
| 14He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. | 14instead of asking the LORD for guidance. So the LORD killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
    |