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THE MESSAGE

1 Samuel 31:6

Saul and Jonathan, Dead on the Mountain The Philistines made war on Israel. The men of Israel were in full retreat from the Philistines, falling left and right, wounded on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up with Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul's sons. The battle was hot and heavy around Saul. The archers got his range and wounded him badly. Saul said to his weapon bearer, "Draw your sword and put me out of my misery, lest these pagan pigs come and make a game out of killing me." But his weapon bearer wouldn't do it. He was terrified. So Saul took the sword himself and fell on it. When the weapon bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, and his weapon bearer—the men closest to him—died together that day.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Armor-Bearer;   Gilboa;   Jezreel;   Jonathan;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anger of God, the;   Philistines, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Philistines;   Saul;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Philistia, philistines;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Death, Mortality;   Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Armour-Bearer;   Gilboa;   Jezreel, Valley of;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - David;   Samuel, the Books of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Achish;   Esdraelon;   Jonathan;   Lo-Debar;   Philistines, the;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Esdraelon;   Samuel, Books of;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Armageddon;   Gilboa;   Jezreel (2);   Saul;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Philis'tines;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Achish;   Chronicles, Books of;   Esdraelon, Plain of;   Jabesh-Gilead;   Samuel, Books of;   Saul;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Chronicles, Books of;   Jonathan, Jehonathan;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So on that day, Saul died together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men.
Hebrew Names Version
So Sha'ul died, and his three sons, and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
King James Version
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
Lexham English Bible
So Saul died, and his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men together that same day.
English Standard Version
Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
New Century Version
So Saul, his three sons, and the officer who carried his armor died together that day.
New English Translation
So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day.
Amplified Bible
So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together on that day.
New American Standard Bible
So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
Geneva Bible (1587)
So Saul dyed, and his three sonnes, and his armour bearer, and all his men that same day together.
Legacy Standard Bible
Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
Contemporary English Version
Saul was dead, his three sons were dead, and the soldier who carried his weapons was dead. They and all his soldiers died on that same day.
Complete Jewish Bible
Thus Sha'ul, his three sons, his armor-bearer and all his men died that same day together.
Darby Translation
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
Easy-to-Read Version
So Saul, his three sons, and the boy who carried his armor all died together that day.
George Lamsa Translation
So Saul died, and his three sons and his armorbearer and also all his servants, that same day together.
Good News Translation
And that is how Saul, his three sons, and the young man died; all of Saul's men died that day.
Literal Translation
And Saul and three of his sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men died together on that day.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thus dyed Saul and his thre sonnes, & his wapenbearer, and all his men together the same daye.
American Standard Version
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armorbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
Bible in Basic English
So death overtook Saul and his three sons and his servant on the same day.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And so Saul dyed, & his three sonnes, and his harnesse bearer, and al his men that same day together.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
King James Version (1611)
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour bearer, and all his men that same day together.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, in that day together.
English Revised Version
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
Berean Standard Bible
So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Saul was deed, and hise thre sones, and his squyer, and alle his men in that dai togidere.
Young's Literal Translation
and Saul dieth, and three of his sons, and the bearer of his weapons, also all his men, on that day together.
Update Bible Version
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armorbearer, and all his men too, that same day together.
Webster's Bible Translation
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
World English Bible
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
New King James Version
So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
New Living Translation
So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day.
New Life Bible
So Saul, his three sons, the one who carried his battle-clothes, and all his men, died that day together.
New Revised Standard
So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together on the same day.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thus died Saul, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, yea all his men, on that day, together.
Douay-Rheims Bible
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men that same day together.
Revised Standard Version
Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

Contextual Overview

1The Philistines made war on Israel. The men of Israel were in full retreat from the Philistines, falling left and right, wounded on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up with Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul's sons. 3The battle was hot and heavy around Saul. The archers got his range and wounded him badly. Saul said to his weapon bearer, "Draw your sword and put me out of my misery, lest these pagan pigs come and make a game out of killing me." But his weapon bearer wouldn't do it. He was terrified. So Saul took the sword himself and fell on it. When the weapon bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, and his weapon bearer—the men closest to him—died together that day. When the Israelites in the valley opposite and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that their army was in full retreat and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and ran for their lives. The Philistines moved in and occupied the sites. The next day, when the Philistines came to rob the dead, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul's head and stripped off his armor. Then they spread the good news all through Philistine country in the shrines of their idols and among the people. They displayed his armor in the shrine of the Ashtoreth. They nailed his corpse to the wall at Beth Shan. The people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. Their valiant men sprang into action. They traveled all night, took the corpses of Saul and his three sons from the wall at Beth Shan, and carried them back to Jabesh and burned off the flesh. They then buried the bones under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted in mourning for seven days. 5Saul and Jonathan, Dead on the Mountain The Philistines made war on Israel. The men of Israel were in full retreat from the Philistines, falling left and right, wounded on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up with Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul's sons. The battle was hot and heavy around Saul. The archers got his range and wounded him badly. Saul said to his weapon bearer, "Draw your sword and put me out of my misery, lest these pagan pigs come and make a game out of killing me." But his weapon bearer wouldn't do it. He was terrified. So Saul took the sword himself and fell on it. When the weapon bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, and his weapon bearer—the men closest to him—died together that day. When the Israelites in the valley opposite and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that their army was in full retreat and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and ran for their lives. The Philistines moved in and occupied the sites. The next day, when the Philistines came to rob the dead, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul's head and stripped off his armor. Then they spread the good news all through Philistine country in the shrines of their idols and among the people. They displayed his armor in the shrine of the Ashtoreth. They nailed his corpse to the wall at Beth Shan. The people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. Their valiant men sprang into action. They traveled all night, took the corpses of Saul and his three sons from the wall at Beth Shan, and carried them back to Jabesh and burned off the flesh. They then buried the bones under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted in mourning for seven days. 6Saul and Jonathan, Dead on the Mountain The Philistines made war on Israel. The men of Israel were in full retreat from the Philistines, falling left and right, wounded on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up with Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul's sons. The battle was hot and heavy around Saul. The archers got his range and wounded him badly. Saul said to his weapon bearer, "Draw your sword and put me out of my misery, lest these pagan pigs come and make a game out of killing me." But his weapon bearer wouldn't do it. He was terrified. So Saul took the sword himself and fell on it. When the weapon bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, and his weapon bearer—the men closest to him—died together that day. 7 When the Israelites in the valley opposite and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that their army was in full retreat and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and ran for their lives. The Philistines moved in and occupied the sites.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

1 Samuel 4:10, 1 Samuel 4:11, 1 Samuel 11:15, 1 Samuel 12:17, 1 Samuel 12:25, 1 Samuel 28:19, 1 Chronicles 10:6, Ecclesiastes 9:1, Ecclesiastes 9:2, Hosea 13:10, Hosea 13:11

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 26:10 - he shall descend 2 Samuel 7:9 - cut off Acts 13:22 - when

Cross-References

Genesis 30:29
Jacob replied, "You know well what my work has meant to you and how your livestock has flourished under my care. The little you had when I arrived has increased greatly; everything I did resulted in blessings for you. Isn't it about time that I do something for my own family?"
Genesis 31:10
"Once, while the flocks were mating, I had a dream and saw the billy goats, all of them streaked, speckled, and mottled, mounting their mates. In the dream an angel of God called out to me, ‘Jacob!' "I said, ‘Yes?'
Genesis 31:22
Three days later, Laban got the news: "Jacob's run off." Laban rounded up his relatives and chased after him. Seven days later they caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, "Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad."
Genesis 31:25
When Laban reached him, Jacob's tents were pitched in the Gilead mountains; Laban pitched his tents there, too.
Genesis 31:38
"In the twenty years I've worked for you, ewes and she-goats never miscarried. I never feasted on the rams from your flock. I never brought you a torn carcass killed by wild animals but that I paid for it out of my own pocket—actually, you made me pay whether it was my fault or not. I was out in all kinds of weather, from torrid heat to freezing cold, putting in many a sleepless night. For twenty years I've done this: I slaved away fourteen years for your two daughters and another six years for your flock and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not stuck with me, you would have sent me off penniless. But God saw the fix I was in and how hard I had worked and last night rendered his verdict."
1 Peter 2:18
You who are servants, be good servants to your masters—not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put up with it for God's sake when you're treated badly for no good reason. There's no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer,.... Only with this difference, his three sons died honourably in the field of battle, but he and his armourbearer destroyed themselves. Josephus says e he reigned eighteen years in the life of Samuel, and after his death twenty two years, which make the forty years the apostle ascribes to him, Acts 13:21; Eupolemus f, an Heathen writer, makes him to reign twenty one years; but of the years of his reign, both before and after the death of Samuel, chronologers are not agreed, see 1 Samuel 25:1; and

1 Samuel 25:1- :;

and all his men that same day together; not all the soldiers in his army; for many of them fled and escaped, and even Abner the general of the army, but his household servants, or those that were near his person, his bodyguards.

e Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14. sect. 9. f Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 3. p. 447.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

All his men - This and similar expressions must not be taken too literally (compare 1 Chronicles 10:6). We know that Abner, and Ish-bosheth, and manymore survived the day of Gilboa.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 31:6. And all his men — Probably meaning those of his troops which were his life or body guards: as to the bulk of the army, it fled at the commencement of the battle, 1 Samuel 31:1.


 
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