1 Samuel31

New Living Translation

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¹Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa.

²The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua.

³The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely.

⁴Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

⁵When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king.

⁶So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day.

⁷When the Israelites on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns.

⁸The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa.

⁹So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death in their pagan temple and to the people throughout the land of Philistia.

¹⁰They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.

¹¹But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies.

¹³Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Samuel 31.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Saul's defeat and death. (1–7). Saul's body rescued by the men of Jabesh-gilead. (8–13).

vv1-7

We cannot judge of the spiritual or eternal state of any by the manner of their death; for in that, there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Saul, when sorely wounded, and unable to resist or to flee, expressed no concern about his never-dying soul; but only desired that the Philistines might not insult over him, or put him to pain, and he became his own murderer. As it is the grand deceit of the devil, to persuade sinners, under great difficulties, to fly to this last act of desperation, it is well to fortify the mind against it, by a serious consideration of its sinfulness before God, and its miserable consequences in society. But our security is not in ourselves. Let us seek protection from Him who keepeth Israel. Let us watch and pray; and take unto us the whole armour of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

vv8-13

The Scripture makes no mention what became of the souls of Saul and his sons, after they were dead; but of their bodies only: secret things belong not to us. It is of little consequence by what means we die, or what is done with our dead bodies. If our souls are saved, our bodies will be raised incorruptible and glorious; but not to fear His wrath, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell, is the extreme of folly and wickedness. How useless is the respect of fellow-creatures to those who are suffering the wrath of God! While pompous funerals, grand monuments, and he praises of men, honour the memory of the deceased, the soul may be suffering in the regions of darkness and despair! Let us seek that honour which cometh from God only.

Key Words

PhilistinesH6430Hebrew

פְּלִשְׁתִּי: a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth

were fightingH3898Hebrew

לָחַם: to feed on; figuratively, to consume; by implication, to battle (as destruction)

IsraelH3478Hebrew

יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity

menH582Hebrew

אֱנוֹשׁ: a man in general (singly or collectively)

fledH5127Hebrew

נוּס: to flit, i.e. vanish away (subside, escape; causatively, chase, impel, deliver)

beforeH6440Hebrew

פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)

fellH5307Hebrew

נָפַל: to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)

slainH2491Hebrew

חָלָל: pierced (especially to death); figuratively, polluted

MountH2022Hebrew

הַר: a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively)

GilboaH1533Hebrew

גִּלְבֹּעַ: Gilboa, a mountain of Palestine