1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers. 4 Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it. 5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, 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, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto the house of their idols, and to the people. 10 And they put his armour in the house of the Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him that which 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. 13 And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1 Os filisteus lutaram contra Israel. E os homens de Israel, fugindo da presença dos filisteus, caíram mortos no monte Gilboa. 2 Os filisteus seguiram de perto Saul e seus filhos e mataram Jônatas, Abinadabe e Malquisua, filhos de Saul. 3 A batalha se intensificou contra Saul. Os flecheiros o avistaram e ele foi ferido gravemente. 4 Então Saul disse ao seu escudeiro:

— Arranque a sua espada e atravesse-me com ela, para que não venham esses incircuncisos, me atravessem com a espada e zombem de mim.

Mas o seu escudeiro não quis fazer isso, porque estava com muito medo. Então Saul pegou a sua própria espada e se lançou sobre ela. 5 Quando o escudeiro viu que Saul estava morto, também se lançou sobre a sua espada e morreu com ele. 6 E assim morreram juntamente naquele dia Saul, os seus três filhos, o seu escudeiro e todos os seus soldados. 7 Quando os homens de Israel que estavam no outro lado do vale e no outro lado do Jordão viram que o exército de Israel fugiu e que Saul e seus filhos estavam mortos, abandonaram as cidades e fugiram. E vieram os filisteus e habitaram nelas.

8 E aconteceu que no dia seguinte, quando os filisteus foram tirar os despojos dos mortos, encontraram Saul e os seus três filhos caídos no monte Gilboa. 9 Cortaram a cabeça de Saul e o despojaram das suas armas. Enviaram mensageiros pela terra dos filisteus, ao redor, para levar as boas-novas ao templo dos seus ídolos e ao povo. 10 Puseram as armas de Saul no templo de Astarote, e o seu corpo afixaram na muralha de Bete-Seã.

11 Quando os moradores de Jabes-Gileade ouviram o que os filisteus haviam feito com Saul, 12 todos os homens valentes se levantaram, caminharam toda a noite, tiraram o corpo de Saul e os corpos de seus filhos da muralha de Bete-Seã e os levaram a Jabes, onde os queimaram. 13 Depois pegaram os ossos deles e os sepultaram debaixo de um arvoredo, em Jabes. E jejuaram sete dias.