Chapter 31

  And the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on mount Gilboa.  

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  And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.  

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  And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers came up with him; and he was much terrified by the archers.  

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  Then said Saul to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was much afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.  

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  And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on his sword, and died with him.  

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  So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.  

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  And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and [they] that were on this side of the 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.  

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  And it came to pass the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa.  

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  And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent [them] into the land of the Philistines round about, to announce the glad tidings in the houses of their idols, and to the people.  

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  And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.  

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  And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul,  

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  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 came to Jabesh, and burned them there.  

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  And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.  

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