| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. | 1Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. |
| 2The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. | 2The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. |
| 3The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. | 3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically. |
| 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. | 4Then 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. |
| 5When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. | 5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him. |
| 6So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day. | 6So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day. |
| 7When the Israelites on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the Israelite 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. | 7When 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. |
| 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. | 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen 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. | 9They 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. |
| 10They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan. | 10They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. |
| 11But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, | 11When 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. | 12all 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. |
| 13Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. | 13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. |
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