1 Samuel 31:2-12

2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abin'adab and Mal'chishu'a, the sons of Saul.
3 The battle pressed hard upon Saul, and the archers found him; and he was badly wounded by the archers.
4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and make sport of me." But his armor-bearer would not; for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword, and fell upon it.
5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword, and died with him.
6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
8 On the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilbo'a.
9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.
10 They put his armor in the temple of Ash'taroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11 But when the inhabitants of Ja'besh-gil'ead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and burnt them there.

1 Samuel 31:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 31

This chapter gives an account of the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, which had been preparing for, and the issue of it; in which Saul, his three sons, and his servants, were slain, upon which his army fled, and several of his cities were taken, 1Sa 31:1-7; what the Philistines did with his body and his armour, 1Sa 31:8-10; the former of which, together with the bodies of his sons, the men of Jabeshgilead rescued, and burnt them, and buried their bones under a tree at Jabesh, expressing great sorrow and concern, 1Sa 31:11-13.

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.