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¹ NOW the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and many fell slain on mount Gilboa.² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Jeshui and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.³ And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers who were skilled in shooting with bows found him; and when Saul saw them, he was sore afraid of them.⁴ Then Saul said to his armourbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, before these uncircumcised come and slay me and torment me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.⁵ And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on his sword, and died with him.⁶ So Saul died and his three sons and his armourbearer, and all his mighty men died on that day together.⁷ And when all the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan saw that Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were slain, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸ And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa.⁹ And they cut off their heads, stripped them of their armour, and sent them to the land of the Philistines, throughout the towns and cities and provinces to carry the good tidings to their idols and to their people;¹⁰ And they put their garments and their armour in the house of their idols, and hanged their bodies by the wall of Beth-jashan.¹¹ Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,¹² They arose, all the valiant men, and went all the night, and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-jashan, and brought them to Jabesh and burned them there; then they took their bones and buried them under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.¹³ So Saul died because of the transgression which he committed against the LORD, and because of the command of the LORD, which he kept not,¹⁴ And also because he consulted men who had familiar spirits, and did not inquire of the LORD his God. Therefore his kingdom was given to David the son of Jesse.