When all the people of Israel in the valley saw that ⌞their army⌟ had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities. So the Philistines came to live in these cities.
I will fill with despair those who are left in the land of their enemies. The sound of a windblown leaf will make them run. They will run away and fall, but no one will be chasing them.
Midian’s power was too strong for Israel. The Israelites made hiding places in the mountains, caves, and mountain strongholds ⌞to protect themselves⌟ from Midian.
When the Israelites saw they were in trouble because the army was hard-pressed, they hid in caves, in thorny thickets, among rocks, in pits, and in cisterns.
When the people of Israel on the other side of the valley and across the Jordan River saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities. So the Philistines came to live in these cities.