Saul og hans sønner mister livet
1I mellemtiden var filistrene nået frem til Jizre’eldalen og gået til angreb på israelitternes lejr på Gilboahøjen. Israels hær flygtede og efterlod mange faldne rundt om på højens skråninger. 2Filistrene satte efter Saul og hans sønner Jonatan, Abinadab og Malkishua, og det lykkedes dem at dræbe sønnerne.
3Kampen rasede omkring Saul, og det lykkedes filistrenes bueskytter at få ram på ham. Han blev hårdt såret 4og råbte til sin våbendrager: „Træk dit sværd og gennembor mig, før de ugudelige og uomskårne filistre gennemborer og vanærer mig.” Men våbendrageren kunne ikke få sig selv til at dræbe Saul. Derfor tog Saul sit sværd og kastede sig mod det, så sværdet gennemborede ham. 5Da våbendrageren så, at Saul var død, fulgte han sin herres eksempel og kastede sig mod sit eget sværd. 6Den dag døde både Saul, hans tre sønner, hans våbendrager og hele hans livvagt.
7Da de israelitter, der boede på den anden side af dalen og øst for Jordanfloden, blev klar over, at hæren var flygtet, og at Saul og hans sønner var døde, flygtede de fra deres byer, og filistrene overtog byerne.
8Næste dag drog filistrene ud for at plyndre de faldne, og de fandt Sauls og hans tre sønners lig på Gilboahøjen. 9Så huggede de hovedet af Saul og tog hans våben, hvorefter de sendte sejrsbudskabet hjem til alle deres afgudstempler og deres landsmænd. 10Sauls våben blev udstillet i Astartetemplet, og hans lig blev hængt op på Bet-Shans mur.
11Men da indbyggerne i Jabesh i Gilead hørte, hvad filistrene havde gjort ved Saul, 12gik deres tapre krigere samme nat til Bet-Shan og tog Sauls og hans sønners lig ned fra muren. Så bragte de dem til Jabesh, hvor de brændte dem. 13Knoglerne begravede de under egetræet i Jabesh, hvorefter de sørgede og fastede i syv dage.
Saul Takes His Own Life
1The Philistines fought against the Israelites. The Israelites ran away from them. But many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines kept chasing Saul and his sons. They killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3The fighting was heavy around Saul. Men who were armed with bows and arrows caught up with him. They shot their arrows at him and wounded him badly.
4Saul spoke to the man carrying his armor. He said, “Pull out your sword. Stick it through me. If you don’t, these fellows who aren’t circumcised will come. They’ll stick their swords through me and hurt me badly.”
But the man was terrified. He wouldn’t do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5The man saw that Saul was dead. So he fell on his own sword and died with him. 6Saul and his three sons died together that same day. The man who carried his armor also died with them that day. So did all of Saul’s men.
7The Israelites who lived along the valley saw that their army had run away. So did those who lived across the Jordan River. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and made their homes in them.
8The day after the Philistines had won the battle, they came to take what they wanted from the dead bodies. They found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. 9So they cut off Saul’s head. They took his armor from his body. Then they sent messengers through the whole land of the Philistines. They announced the news in the temple where they had set up statues of their gods. They also announced it among their people. 10They put Saul’s armor in the temple where they had set up statues of female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They hung his body up on the wall of Beth Shan.
11The people of Jabesh Gilead heard about what the Philistines had done to Saul. 12So all their brave men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They brought them to Jabesh. There they burned them. 13Then they got the bones of Saul and his sons and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh. They didn’t eat anything for seven days.
