1 Samuel 31:12

Easy-to-Read Version

So all the soldiers of Jabesh went to Beth Shan. They marched all night, went to the wall of Beth Shan, and took down the bodies of Saul and his sons. Then they carried them to Jabesh. There the people of Jabesh burned the bodies of Saul and his three sons.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
all their brave men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

Hebrew Names Version
all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Sha'ul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beit-Shan; and they came to Yavesh, and burnt them there.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
all of the valiant men set out and went all night and took the corpse of Saul and the corpses of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

English Standard Version
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 burned them there.

New Century Version
the brave men of Jabesh marched all night and came to Beth Shan. They removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and brought them to Jabesh. There they burned the bodies.

New English Translation
all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul's corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them.

Amplified Bible
all the brave men stood and walked all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and cremated them there.

New American Standard Bible
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 burned them there.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then they arose (as many as were strong men) and went all night, and tooke the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sonnes, from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Iabesh, and burnt them there,

Legacy Standard Bible
so all the valiant men arose and walked 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 burned them there.

Contemporary English Version
So one night, some brave men from Jabesh went to Beth-Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons, then brought them back to Jabesh and burned them.

Complete Jewish Bible
all their warriors set out, traveling all night. They took the body of Sha'ul and the bodies of his sons off the wall of Beit-Sh'an, returned to Yavesh and burned them there.

Darby Translation
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 came to Jabesh, and burned them there.

George Lamsa Translation
All the valiant men arose and marched all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-jashan, and brought them to Jabesh and burnt them there.

Good News Translation
the bravest men started out and marched all night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, brought them back to Jabesh, and burned them there.

Literal Translation
then all the mighty men rose up, and they went all the 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 burned them there.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
they gat them vp, as many as were men of armes, and wente all the nighte, and toke ye body of Saul, and the bodies of his sonnes from ye wall of Bethsan, broughte the to Iabes, and brent them there,

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
All the fighting men got up and, travelling all night, took Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and had them burned there.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They arose, as many as were strong men, and went all night, & toke the bodie of Saul, & the bodies of his sonnes, from the wall of Bethsan, and came to Iabes, and burnt them there.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.

King James Version (1611)
All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and tooke the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sonnes from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Iabesh, and burnt them there.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they rose up, even every man of might, and marched all night, and took the body of Saul and the body of Jonathan his son from the wall of Baethsam; and they bring them to Jabis, and burn them there.

English Revised Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
all their valiant warriors 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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
alle the strongeste men risiden, and yeden in al that nyyt, and token the deed bodi of Saul, and the deed bodies of hise sones fro the wal of Bethsan; and the men of Jabes of Galaad camen, and brenten tho deed bodies bi fier.

Young's Literal Translation
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,

Update Bible Version
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.

Webster's Bible Translation
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 came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

World English Bible
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.

New King James Version
all the valiant men arose and traveled 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 burned them there.

New Living Translation
all their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies.

New Life Bible
all the men with strength of heart went and walked all night. They took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh. There they burned them.

New Revised Standard
all the valiant men set out, traveled all night long, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They came to Jabesh and burned them there.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
then arose all the men of valour, and journeyed all the night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-shan, - and came to Jabesh, and burned them there;

Douay-Rheims Bible
All the most valiant men arose, and walked all the night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Bethsan: and they came to Jabes Galaad, and burnt them there.

Revised Standard Version
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.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
all the valiant men rose and walked 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 burned them there.

Contextual Overview

⁸ The next day, the Philistines went back to take things from the dead bodies. They found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ The Philistines cut off Saul's head and took all his armor. They carried the news to the Philistines and to all the temples of their idols. ¹⁰ They put Saul's armor in the temple of Ashtoreth. The Philistines also hung Saul's body on the wall of Beth Shan. ¹¹ The people living in Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines did to Saul. ¹² So all the soldiers of Jabesh went to Beth Shan. They marched all night, went to the wall of Beth Shan, and took down the bodies of Saul and his sons. Then they carried them to Jabesh. There the people of Jabesh burned the bodies of Saul and his three sons. ¹³ Later, they buried the bones of Saul and his three sons under the big tree in Jabesh. Then the people of Jabesh showed their sadness—they did not eat for seven days.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

burnt them there: 2 Chronicles 16:14, Jeremiah 34:5, Amos 6:10

Reciprocal: Joshua 17:11 - Manasseh 2 Samuel 2:7 - let your 1 Kings 4:12 - Bethshean

Cross-References

Genesis 31:37
You looked through everything I own and found nothing that belongs to you. If you found something, show it to me. Put it here where our men can see it. Let our men decide which one of us is right.

Genesis 31:42
But the God of my ancestors, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, was with me. If God had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing. But he saw the trouble that I had and the work that I did, and last night God proved that I am right."

Genesis 31:43
Laban said to Jacob, "These women are my daughters. These children belong to me, and these animals are mine. Everything you see here belongs to me, but I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children.

Exodus 3:7
Then the Lord said, "I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries when the Egyptians hurt them. I know about their pain.

Exodus 3:9
I have heard the cries of the Israelites, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have made life hard for them.

Leviticus 19:13
"You must not cheat or rob your neighbor. You must not hold a hired worker's salary overnight until morning.

Deuteronomy 24:15
Give him his pay every day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on the money. If you don't pay him, he will complain against you to the Lord , and you will be guilty of sin.

Psalms 12:5
They took advantage of the poor and stole what little they had. But the Lord knows what they did, and he says, "I will rescue those who are poor and helpless, and I will punish those who hurt them."

Psalms 139:3
You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do.

Ecclesiastes 5:8
In some country you will see poor people who are forced to work very hard. You will see that this is not fair to them. It is against their rights. But don't be surprised! The ruler who forces them to work has another ruler who forces him. And there is still another ruler who forces both of these rulers.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

All the valiant men arose,.... Of the city of Jabeshgilead, fired with indignation at the Philistines' ill usage of Saul and the bodies of his sons:

and went all night; not only for secrecy, but for haste:

and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh; brought them with them thither, the Philistines either having no knowledge of it, or not daring to oppose them:

and burnt them there: that is, the flesh of them, for the bones they buried, as in 1 Samuel 31:13; and this they did, contrary to the common usage of the country, which was not to burn; but this they did, that if the Philistines should come to recover them, they would not be able to do it: though the Targum is,

"they burnt over them, as they burn over their kings there;''

they made a burning for them of spices over them; or of their beds, and other household goods, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, though they prefer the other sense; see 2 Chronicles 16:14 perhaps the true reason might be, because they were putrid and infectious.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

burnt them - Burning was not the usual mode of sepulture among the Hebrews. But in this case from a pious desire to disguise the mutilation of the headless corpses, and exempt them from any possible future insult, the men of Jabesh burned the bodies, yet so as to preserve the bones 1Sa 31:13; 2 Samuel 21:12.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 31:12. And burnt them there. — It has been denied that the Hebrews burnt the bodies of the dead, but that they buried them in the earth, or embalmed them, and often burnt spices around them, c. These no doubt were the common forms of sepulture, but neither of these could be conveniently practiced in the present case. They could not have buried them about Beth-shan without being discovered and as to embalming, that was most likely out of all question, as doubtless the bodies were now too putrid to bear it. They therefore burnt them, because there was no other way of disposing of them at that time so as to do them honour; and the bones and ashes they collected, and buried under a tree or in a grove at Jabesh.