The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel: and the men of Israel went in flight before the Philistines, falling down wounded in Mount Gilboa.
1
The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled.
2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they put to death Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
2
But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
3 And the fight was going badly for Saul, and the archers came across him, and he was wounded by the archers.
3
The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he himself was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded.
4 Then Saul said to the servant who had the care of his arms, Take out your sword and put it through me, before these men without circumcision come and make sport of me. But his servant, full of fear, would not do so. Then Saul took out his sword, and falling on it, put an end to himself.
4
He said to the young man carrying his weapons, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that these godless Philistines won't gloat over me and kill me." But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it.
5 And when his servant saw that Saul was dead, he did the same, and was united with him in death.
5
The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his own sword and died with Saul.
6 So death overtook Saul and his three sons and his servant on the same day.
6
And that is how Saul, his three sons, and the young man died; all of Saul's men died that day.
7 And when the men of Israel across the valley and on the other side of Jordan saw that the army of Israel was in flight and that Saul and his sons were dead, they came out of their towns and went in flight; and the Philistines came and took them for themselves.
7
When the Israelites on the other side of Jezreel Valley and east of the Jordan River heard that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had been killed, they abandoned their towns and fled. Then the Philistines came and occupied the towns.
8 Now on the day after, when the Philistines came to take their goods from the dead, they saw Saul and his three sons dead on the earth in Mount Gilboa.
8
The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa.
9 And cutting off his head and taking away his war-dress, they sent word into the land of the Philistines round about, to take the news to their gods and to the people.
9
They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people.
10 His war-dress they put in the house of Astarte; and his body was fixed on the wall of Beth-shan.
10
Then they put his weapons in the temple of the goddess Astarte, and they nailed his body to the wall of the city of Beth Shan.
11 And when the people of Jabesh-gilead had news of what the Philistines had done to Saul,
11
When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 All the fighting men got up and, travelling all night, took Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and had them burned there.
12
the bravest men started out and marched all night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, brought them back to Jabesh, and burned them there.
13 And their bones they put in the earth under a tree in Jabesh; and for seven days they took no food.
13
Then they took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in town, and fasted for seven days.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.