Saul Takes His Own Life
1The Philistines fought against Israel. The men of Israel 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 armed with bows and arrows caught up with him. They shot their arrows at him and wounded him badly.
4Saul spoke to the man who was carrying his armor. He said, “Pull out your sword and stick it through me. If you don’t, these men who aren’t circumcised will come 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. 6Saul and his three sons died. All of them died together.
7All the Israelites who lived in the valley saw that their army had run away. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So the Israelites left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and lived 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 sons dead on Mount Gilboa. 9So they took what they wanted from Saul’s body. They cut off his head and took his armor. Then they sent messengers through the whole land of the Philistines. They announced the news to the statues of their gods. They also announced it among their people. 10They put Saul’s armor in the temple of their gods. They hung up his head in the temple of their god Dagon.
11The people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. 12So all the brave men of Jabesh Gilead went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried the bones of Saul and his sons under the great tree that was there. They didn’t eat anything for seven days.
13Saul died because he wasn’t faithful to the Lord. He didn’t obey the word of the Lord. He even asked for advice from a person who gets messages from people who have died. 14He didn’t ask the Lord for advice. So the Lord put him to death. He turned the kingdom over to David. David was the son of Jesse.
Sauli Ajiua
(1 Samweli 31:1-13)
110:1 1Sam 7:7; 13:5; 31:1Basi Wafilisti wakapigana na Israeli. Waisraeli wakawakimbia, na wengi wakauawa katika mlima Gilboa. 2Wafilisti wakawafuatia kwa bidii Sauli na wanawe, wakawaua Yonathani, Abinadabu na Malki-Shua. 3Mapigano yakawa makali kumzunguka Sauli na wakati wapiga mishale walipompata, wakamjeruhi.
410:4 Amu 16:21Sauli akamwambia mbeba silaha wake, “Futa upanga wako unichome nao, la sivyo hawa watu wasiotahiriwa watakuja na kunidhalilisha.”
Lakini mbeba silaha wake akaogopa sana wala hakuweza kufanya hivyo. Kwa hiyo Sauli akachukua upanga wake mwenyewe na kuuangukia. 5Mbeba silaha wake alipoona kwamba Sauli amekufa, naye pia akauangukia upanga wake akafa. 6Kwa hiyo Sauli na wanawe watatu wakafa, pamoja na nyumba yake yote.
7Waisraeli wote waliokuwa bondeni walipoona kwamba jeshi limekimbia na kwamba Sauli na wanawe wamekufa, waliacha miji yao wakakimbia. Nao Wafilisti wakaja na kukaa humo.
8Kesho yake Wafilisti walipokuja kuwavua maiti silaha, walimkuta Sauli na wanawe wameanguka katika Mlima Gilboa. 9Wakamvua mavazi, wakachukua kichwa chake pamoja na silaha zake, wakawatuma wajumbe katika nchi yote ya Wafilisti kutangaza habari hizi miongoni mwa sanamu zao na watu wao. 1010:10 Amu 16:23; 1Sam 31:10; Isa 48:5Waliweka silaha zake katika hekalu la miungu yao, wakatundika kichwa chake katika hekalu la Dagoni.
1110:11 Amu 21:8Wakazi wote wa Yabeshi-Gileadi waliposikia yote Wafilisti waliyomtendea Sauli, 12mashujaa wao wote wakaondoka, wakautwaa mwili wa Sauli na miili ya wanawe, wakaileta Yabeshi. Wakaizika mifupa yao chini ya mti mkubwa huko Yabeshi, nao wakafunga kwa siku saba.
1310:13 2Sam 1; 1; 15:23; 1Nya 5:25; 1Sam 13:13; Kum 18:9-14; 1Sam 28:7; 1Fal 18:18; 2Nya 16:9; Kut 22:18; Law 19:31; 20:27; 2Fal 21:6Sauli alikufa kwa sababu hakuwa mwaminifu kwa Bwana. Hakulishika neno la Bwana, hata akataka shauri kwa mwaguzi kwa ajili ya uongozi, 1410:14 1Nya 12:23; 1Sam 13:14; 15:28hakumuuliza Bwana. Kwa hiyo Bwana alimuua, na ufalme akampa Daudi mwana wa Yese.
