1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
2 And the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Sauls sons.
3 And the battle was heavy against Saul; and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers.
4 And Saul said to his armorbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took a sword and fell on it.
5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul had died, he also fell on his sword and died.
6 Thus Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.
7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they forsook their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9 And they stripped him and took his head and his weapons, and sent throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news to their idols and among the people.
10 And they put his weapons in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon.
11 And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
13 Thus Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had transgressed against Jehovah, because he had not kept the Word of Jehovah, and because he asked counsel to seek after a medium.
14 He had not inquired after Jehovah; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.