EasyEnglish Bible 2018
1 Samuel 31:4
4He said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Kill me now with your sword. I do not want these foreign men to be cruel to me as they kill me.’ But the young man would not agree to kill Saul because he was too afraid. So Saul took his own sword and he threw himself onto it so that he died.
1 Samuel 31:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
- New International Version (NIV)Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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 mistreat me." But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.
Context of 1 Samuel 31:4
2The Philistines chased after Saul and his sons to catch them. They killed Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3The Philistines were fighting the battle all around Saul. Some of their soldiers saw Saul and they shot their arrows at him. The arrows hurt Saul very much and he was nearly dead. He said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Kill me now with your sword. I do not want these foreign men to be cruel to me as they kill me.’ But the young man would not agree to kill Saul because he was too afraid. So Saul took his own sword and he threw himself onto it so that he died. 5The young man saw that Saul was dead. So he threw himself onto his own sword and he also died. 6So Saul died there, with his three sons. The young man who carried Saul's armour and all Saul's men died too.
Read all of 1 Samuel 311 Samuel 31:4 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שָׁאוּל֩ לְנֹשֵׂ֨א כֵלָ֜יו שְׁלֹ֥ף חַרְבְּךָ֣׀ וְדָקְרֵ֣נִי בָ֗הּ פֶּן־יָ֠בוֹאוּ הָעֲרֵלִ֨ים הָאֵ֤לֶּה וּדְקָרֻ֙נִי֙ וְהִתְעַלְּלוּ־בִ֔י וְלֹ֤א אָבָה֙ נֹשֵׂ֣א כֵלָ֔יו כִּ֥י יָרֵ֖א מְאֹ֑ד וַיִּקַּ֤ח שָׁאוּל֙ אֶת־הַחֶ֔רֶב וַיִּפֹּ֖ל עָלֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- unto his armourbearerכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
- unto his armourbearerנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearing(armour)H5375
- Drawשָׁלַףshâlaph · to drawH8025
- thy swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- and thrust me throughדָּקַרdâqar · to pierceH1856
- therewith; lest these uncircumcisedעָרֵל‛ârêl · uncircumcisedH6189
- comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- and abuseעָלַל‛âlal · to abuseH5953
- wouldאָבָה'âbâh · be willingH14
- not; for he was soreמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
- afraidיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
- tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- and fellנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 31:4
- Judges 9:54Abimelech quickly said to the young man who carried his weapons, ‘Take hold of your sword and kill me! I do not want people to say that a woman killed me!’ So the young man killed him with his sword.
- 1 Chronicles 10:4Saul said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Kill me now with your sword. I do not want these foreign men to come and be cruel to me.’ But the young man would not agree to kill Saul because he was too afraid. So Saul took his own sword and he threw himself onto it so that he died.
- 1 Samuel 14:6Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Now we will go to the camp of those foreign people. Perhaps the Lord will help us to win the fight. He can win a battle whether there are many soldiers or only a few.’
- 1 Samuel 17:26David asked the men who were standing near him, ‘If someone kills this Philistine soldier and takes away the shame from Israel, what gift will he get? He is an unclean Philistine! He must stop insulting the army of our God, who lives for ever.’
- 2 Samuel 1:20Do not tell the people in Gath about it. Do not tell the news in the streets of Ashkelon. If you do, the daughters of the Philistines will sing with joy. Yes, those foreign people who do not worship God will be happy.
- Jeremiah 9:25The Lord says, ‘Be careful! Very soon I will punish all people who do not respect me. Those people may be circumcised, but if they do not respect me, I will punish them.
- Ezekiel 44:7You brought foreigners into my temple. They were not circumcised and they did not want to belong to me. In that way, you made my own temple unclean. You did that when you offered food, fat and blood to me there. You did not obey my covenant with you, when you did all these disgusting things.
- 2 Samuel 1:9He said to me, “Stand over me and kill me. I have a lot of pain and I am almost dead.”
- 2 Samuel 17:23Ahithophel realized that Absalom had not agreed to his advice. So he got on his donkey and he went home to his own town. He told his family what he needed to tell them. Then he hanged himself. He died and his family buried him in his father's grave.
- 1 Kings 16:27The other things that happened while Omri was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the things that he did and the power that he had.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 31:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Draw thy sword, and thrust me through - Dr. Delaney has some good observations on this part of the subject: "Saul and his armor-bearer died by the same sword. That his armor-bearer died by his own sword is out of all doubt; the text expressly tells us so; and that Saul perished by the same sword is sufficiently evident. Draw Thy sword, says he to him, and thrust me through; which, when he refused, Saul, says the text, took The sword, (החרב את eth…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4David had earlier served as an armor bearer (a personal assistant who carried a soldier’s weapons) to Saul (1 Samuel 16:21). run me through: This is one of many similarities between the death of Abimelech during the time of the judges (Judges 9) and Saul, Israel’s first national king (see Judges 9:54). In both stories, a wounded leader asks someone else to kill him rather than die in shame.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-53-5. the battle went sore against Saul, &c.--He seems to have bravely maintained his ground for some time longer; but exhausted with fatigue and loss of blood, and dreading that if he fell alive into the enemy's hands, they would insolently maltreat him (Jos 8:29; 10:24; Jud 8:21), he requested his armor bearer to despatch him. However, that officer refused to do so. Saul then falling on the point of his sword killed himself; and the armor bearer, who…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 31:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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