1The Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and the slain fell on Mount Gilboa.2The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.3The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him; the archers wounded him severely.4Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was very much afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell upon it.5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.6Thus Saul died, together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men on that same day.7When the men of Israel who were beyond the Valley and those who were beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and settled in them.8The next day the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa.9They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people.10They placed his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth and fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shean.11When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,12all their valiant men arose, traveled all night, took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shean, brought them to Jabesh, and burned them there.13They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.