1 Chronicles 10

Saul Takes His Own Life

1 The Philistines fought against Israel. The men of Israel ran away from them. But many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa.

2 The Philistines kept chasing Saul and his sons. They killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua.

3 The fighting was heavy around Saul. Men who were armed with bows and arrows caught up with him. They shot their arrows at him and wounded him badly.

4 Saul spoke to the man who was carrying his armor. He said, "Pull out your sword. Stick it through me. If you don't, those men who aren't circumcised will come and hurt me badly." But the man was terrified. He wouldn't do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

5 The man saw that Saul was dead. So he fell on his own sword and died.

6 Saul and his three sons died. All of them died together.

7 All of the Israelites who lived in the valley saw that their army had run away. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and settled down in them.

8 The day after the Philistines had won the battle, they came to take what they wanted from the dead bodies. They found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa.

9 So they took what they wanted from Saul's body. They took his head and his armor. Then they sent messengers through the whole land of the Philistines. They announced the news to the statues of their gods. They also announced it among their people.

10 They put Saul's armor in the temple of their gods. They hung his head up in the temple of their god Dagon.

11 The people of Jabesh Gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul.

12 So all of their brave men went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried the bones of Saul and his sons under the great tree that was there. They didn't eat anything for seven days.

13 Saul died because he wasn't faithful to the Lord. He didn't obey the word of the Lord. He even asked for advice from a person who gets messages from those who have died.

14 He didn't ask the LORD for advice. So the LORD put him to death. He turned the kingdom over to David. David was the son of Jesse.

1 Chronicles 10 Commentary

Chapter 10

The death of Saul.

- The design chiefly in view in these books of the Chronicles, appears to be to preserve the records of the house of David. Therefore the writer repeats not the history of Saul's reign, but only of his death, by which a way was made for David to the throne. And from the ruin of Saul, we may learn, 1. That the sin of sinners will certainly find them out, sooner or later; Saul died for his transgression. 2. That no man's greatness can exempt him from the judgments of God. 3. Disobedience is a killing thing. Saul died for not keeping the word of the Lord. May be delivered from unbelief, impatience, and despair. By waiting on the Lord we shall obtain a kingdom that cannot be moved.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 10

This part, 1Ch 10:1-12 which gives an account of the last battle of Saul with the Philistines, and of his death and burial, is the same with 1Sa 31:1-13 see the notes there; the cause of his death follows in 1Ch 10:13.