And the battle went sore against Saul. — That is, after the death of Jonathan and his brothers. The great warrior king no doubt fought like a lion, but one by one his brave defenders fell in harness by his side; and the enemy seems to have directed their principal attention, at this period of the fight, to killing or capturing the famous Saul.
And the archers hit him. — It would seem as though, in that deadly combat, none could strike down that giant kingly form, so the archers — literally, as in the margin of our Version, shooters, men with bows, skilful shots — were told off, and these, aiming at the warrior towering above the other combatants, with the crown on his head (2 Samuel 1:10), hit him.
And he was sore wounded by the archers. — This is the usual rendering of the word, but the more accurate translation is, He was sore afraid (or was greatly alarmed at them): so Gesenius, Keil, Lange, &c. All seemed against him. His army was routed, his sons were dead, his faithful captains and companions were gone, and these bow-men were shooting at him from a distance where his strong arm could not reach them. Gradually weakened through loss of blood — perhaps with the words he had heard only a few hours before at En-dor from the dead prophet ringing in his ears, “To-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me” — the great undaunted courage at last failed him, and he turned to his armourbearer, who was still by his side.