VERSE STUDY • KJV

1 Samuel 31:8-13

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 publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people. ¹⁰ And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. ¹¹ And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. ¹³ And they took their bones, and buried [them] under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

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 publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people. ¹⁰ And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. ¹¹ And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. ¹³ And they took their bones, and buried [them] under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. ¹¹ When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. ¹³ Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

WEB World English Bible

⁸ It happened on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to carry the news to the house of their idols, and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. ¹¹ 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 They took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

ASV American Standard Version

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 armor, 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 armor 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.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

⁸ And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the Philistines come to strip the wounded, and they find Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa, ⁹ and they cut off his head, and strip off his weapons, and send into the land of the Philistines round about, to proclaim tidings in the house of their idols, and among the people; ¹⁰ and they place his weapons in the house of Ashtaroth, and his body they have fixed on the wall of Beth-Shan. ¹¹ And they hear regarding it—the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead—that which the Philistines have done to Saul, ¹² and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there, ¹³ and they take their bones, and bury them under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and fast seven days.

Surrounding context — 1 Samuel 31

5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise 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] on the other side 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 publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people.

10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

13 And they took their bones, and buried [them] under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Read the whole chapter → · About 1 Samuel →

Topics connected to this verse

HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

Compare classic commentaries on 1 Samuel 31:8-13

Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.

Compare commentaries →