They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people.
They cut off Saul’s head, strip his armor, and send word through Philistia to announce the news in idol temples and among the people.
It presents Saul’s fall as a victory the Philistines publicly celebrate.
7When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities. 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people. 10They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.