¶ And the Philistines fought against Israel. And the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and were overthrown and slain in mount Gelboe. And the Philistines followed Saul and his sons and slew Iehonathan, Abinadab and Melchisua the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, in so much that the shooters met him, and he was wounded of the shooters. Then said Saul to his weapon bearer draw thy sword and thrust me thorow therewith, that these uncircumcised come not and do me shame. And his weapon bearer would not, but feared exceedingly. Whereupon Saul caught a sword and fell upon it. And when his harness bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell on a sword also and died. And thus Saul and his three sons and all his house died together. And when all the men that dwelt in the valleys, saw how they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and ran away, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
¶ And on the morrow when the Philistines came to strip the dead bodies, they found Saul and his sons overthrown in mount Gelboe. And when they had stripped him they took his head and his harness and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about to shew tidings unto their gods and to the people. And they put his harness in the houses of their gods. But his skull they hanged in the house of Dagon. And when all they of Iabes in Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, all the men of war arose and fetched away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Iabes and buried the bones of them under an oak in Iabes, and fasted seven days. And so Saul died for his trespass that he trespassed against the LORD, in that he kept not the word of the LORD, and in that he asked counsel of a woman that wrought with a spirit, and asked not of the LORD. And therefore the Lord killed him and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Iesai.