Study Desk

Now ^(C1)the Philistines gathered together all their armies to ^(C2)Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in ^(C3)Jezreel.

And the governors of the Philistines were proceeding on, leading hundreds and thousands, and ^(C1)David and his men were proceeding in the back with Achish.

Then the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, ^(C1)who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and ^(C2)I have found nothing at all suspicious in him since the day he ^(F1)deserted to me to this day?"

But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Make the man go back, so that he will return ^(C1)to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, ^(C2)or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For how could this man find favor with his lord? Would it not be with the heads of ^(F1)these men?

"Is this not David, ^(C1)of whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?"

Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have indeed been honest, and ^(C1)your ^(F1)going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; ^(C2)for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the governors.

"Now then, return and go in peace, so that you will not do anything wrong in the sight of the governors of the Philistines."

However, David said to Achish, "^(C1)But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant since the day that I came before you, to this day, that I cannot go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

But Achish replied to David, "I know that you are pleasing in my sight, ^(C1)like an angel of God; nevertheless ^(C2)the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us into the battle.'

"Now then, rise early in the morning ^(C1)with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have risen early in the morning and have light, leave."

So David got up early, he and his men, to leave in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

^(C1)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded ^(C2)on Mount Gilboa.

And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines ^(F1)killed ^(C1)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.

^(C1)The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers.

^(C1)Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise ^(C2)these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me." But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. ^(C3)So Saul took ^(F1)his sword and fell on it.

When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him.

So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

Now when the people of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and settled in them.

It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them ^(F1)throughout the land of the Philistines, ^(C1)to bring the good news ^(C2)to the house of their idols and to the people.

They put his weapons in the ^(F1)temple of ^(C1)Ashtaroth, and ^(C2)they nailed his body to the wall of ^(C3)Beth-shan.

Now when ^(C1)the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard ^(F1)what the Philistines had done to Saul,

^(C1)all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and ^(C2)burned them there.

And they took their bones and ^(C1)buried them under ^(C2)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and ^(C3)fasted for seven days.