1. Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.

2. The Philistines overtook Saul and on his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

3. The battle went hard against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.

4. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me!" But his armor bearer would not; for he was terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it.

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

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

7. When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.

8. On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

9. They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to carry the news to the house of their idols, and to the people.

10. They put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

11. When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

12. all the valiant men arose, 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.

13. They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1. Then DAVID came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came to meet DAVID trembling, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no man with you?"

2. DAVID said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commanded me to do something, and has said to me, 'Let no one know anything about the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you. I have sent the young men to a certain place.'

3. Now therefore what is under your hand? Please give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever is available."

4. The priest answered DAVID, and said, "I have no common bread, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women."

5. DAVID answered the priest, and said to him, "Truly, women have been kept from us as usual these three days. When I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was only a common journey. How much more then today shall their vessels be holy?"

6. So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the show bread that was taken from before The LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

7. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before The LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

8. DAVID said to Ahimelech, "Isn't there here under your hand spear or sword? For I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste."

9. The priest said, "Behold, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you would like to take that, take it; for there is no other except that here."DAVID said, "There is none like that. Give it to me."

10. DAVID arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

11. The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this DAVID the king of the land? Didn't they sing to one another about him in dances, saying,'Saul has slain his thousands,and DAVID his ten thousands?'"

12. DAVID laid up these words in his heart, and was very afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13. He changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be insane in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down on his beard.

14. Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is insane. Why then have you brought him to me?