And the men of Israel, that were beyond the valley, and beyond the Jordan, seeing that the Israelites were fled, and that Saul was dead, and his sons, forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came, and dwelt there.

And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and they that were on this side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

And they see, the men of Israel, who are beyond the valley, and who are beyond the Jordan, that the men of Israel have fled, and that Saul and his sons have died, and they forsake the cities and flee, and Philistines come in, and dwell in them.

And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelled in them.

And when the men of Israel across the valley and on the other side of Jordan saw that the army of Israel was in flight and that Saul and his sons were dead, they came out of their towns and went in flight; and the Philistines came and took them for themselves.

Then, seeing that the men of the Israelites had fled, and that Saul had died with his sons, the men of Israel who were across the valley or beyond the Jordan abandoned their cities, and they fled. And the Philistines went and lived there.

The men on the other side of the valley - This must mean to the north of the plain of Jezreel, and would comprise the tribe of Naphtali, and Zabulon, and probably Issachar. But the text of 1-Chronicles 10:7 has "that were in the valley," limiting the statement to the inhabitants of the plain of Jezreel.
On the other side Jordan - This phrase most commonly means on the east of Jordan, the speaker being supposed to be on the west side. But it is also used of the west of Jordan, as here, if the text be sound.
The Philistines dwelt in them - One of the principal cities, Beth-shan, fell into their power at once 1-Samuel 31:10.

The men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley - They appear to have been panic-struck, and therefore fled as far as they could out of the reach of the Philistines. As the Philistines possessed Beth-shan, situated near to Jordan, the people on the other side of that river, fearing for their safety, fled also.

And when the men of Israel that [were] on the other side of the (b) valley, and [they] that [were] on the other side (c) Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
(b) Near to Gilboa.
(c) The tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

And which the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley,.... The valley of Jezreel; of which See Gill on Hosea 1:5,
and they that were on the other side Jordan; or rather "on that side"; for the phrase will bear to be rendered either way, and so may mean that side of Jordan on which the battle was fought; for as for the other side, or that beyond it, the Israelites there could not be in such fear of the Philistines, nor do we ever read of their inhabiting any cities there; though as the phrase is used of the valley, as well as of the river, it may be rendered "about the valley, and about Jordan" (g), and so describes such that dwelt near to each of them:
saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead; that is, had information and intelligence of those facts, for it is not to be supposed they saw them with their eyes:
they forsook, the cities, and fled; fearing they should be put to the sword, or carried captive:
and the Philistines came and dwelt them; having nothing more to do than to come and take possession.
(g) "circa convellem illiam--circa Jordanem", Junius & Tremellius, Picator; so Noldius, p. 295. No. 936.

the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley--probably the valley of Jezreel--the largest and southernmost of the valleys that run between Little Hermon and the ridges of the Gilboa range direct into the Jordan valley. It was very natural for the people in the towns and villages there to take fright and flee, for had they waited the arrival of the victors, they must, according to the war usages of the time, have been deprived either of their liberty or their lives.

When the men of Israel upon the sides that were opposite to the valley (Jezreel) and the Jordan saw that the Israelites (the Israelitish troop) fled, and Saul and his sons were dead, they took to flight out of the cities, whereupon the Philistines took possession of them. עבר is used here to signify the side opposite to the place of conflict in the valley of Jezreel, which the writer assumed as his standpoint (cf. 1-Samuel 14:40); so that העמק עבר is the country to the west of the valley of Jezreel, and היּרדּן עבר the country to the west of the Jordan, i.e., between Gilboa and the Jordan. These districts, i.e., the whole of the country round about the valley of Jezreel, the Philistines took possession of, so that the whole of the northern part of the land of Israel, in other words the whole land with the exception of Peraea and the tribe-land of Judah, came into their hands when Saul was slain.