¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel ; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines , and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa .

²The Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons ; and the Philistines killed Jonathan , Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul .

³The battle went hard against Saul , and the archers overtook him ; and he was distressed by reason of the archers .

⁴Then Saul said to his armour bearer , “Draw your sword , and thrust me through with it , lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me .”

But his armour bearer would not , for he was terrified . Therefore Saul took his sword and fell on it .

⁵When his armour bearer saw that Saul was dead , he likewise fell on his sword and died .

⁶So Saul died with his three sons ; and all his house died together .

⁷When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they fled , and that Saul and his sons were dead , they abandoned their cities , and fled ; and the Philistines came and lived in them .

⁸On the next day , when the Philistines came to strip the slain , they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa .

⁹They stripped him and took his head and his armour , then sent into the land of the Philistines all around to carry the news to their idols and to the people .

¹⁰They put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon .

¹¹When all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul ,

¹²all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons , and brought them to Jabesh , and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh , and fasted seven days .

¹³So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD , because of the LORD ’s word , which he didn’t keep , and also because he asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to enquire ,

¹⁴and didn’t enquire of the LORD . Therefore he killed him , and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse .