Now where is your king? Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king and the officials you demanded of me?In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away.
Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa.The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons— Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua.The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely.Saul groaned to his armor bearer,“ Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king.So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day.When the Israelites on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns.
The Israelite army fled from Judah, and God handed them over to Judah in defeat.Abijah and his army inflicted heavy losses on them; 500,000 of Israel’s select troops were killed that day.
and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives.The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.
He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned.So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.All the people around them fled when they heard their screams.“ The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried.Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.
