They: the subject of the verb is indefinite, since the writer has no one in particular in mind. This indefiniteness is captured in Good News Translation by the use of a passive construction. French versions use the indefinite pronoun on, “one,” to accomplish the same purpose (Bible en français courant, Nouvelle version Segond révisée, La Bible du Semeur, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). In other languages translators may have to say “someone told Saul” (Revised English Bible).

Behold: see the comments on page 18 and following.

Eating with the blood, as explained in the comment on verse 32, was forbidden by the law.

Some manuscript evidence has “and Saul said” where the Hebrew text has And he said. But the presence of the pronoun or the proper noun will have to be determined by what is natural and clearly understood in the receptor language.

You have dealt treacherously is an accusation that the soldiers had acted in a deceitful and unfaithful way. But in some languages it will be impossible to convey this meaning without saying what they had betrayed. Contemporary English Version makes this quite clear by speaking of their “being unfaithful to the LORD.” Knox takes a different approach but conveys the same essential meaning, “you have broken the law.”

Here: in place of the word “today” in the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint reads “here.” The Septuagint is the basis for many translations (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible as well as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and suggests that the word “today” here means “during daytime.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates literally “Roll a large stone over to me today.” Since then a contrast would arise between “daytime” and nighttime (see verse 34), it may be better to say “roll a large stone to me right away!” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; so also Revised English Bible and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

The stone was to be used as an altar (see verse 35). By killing the animals on the stone instead of on the ground (verse 32), the people could ensure that the blood would run out of the meat.

If translators need to avoid direct quotation, a possible model for the verse may be as follows:

• Someone reported to Saul that the soldiers were sinning against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it. So Saul called them traitors against the LORD and ordered them to roll a big stone over to him immediately.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .