It will be necessary in some languages to clarify who turned away from whom. The original text has only the pronouns he and him, but the meaning is “David turned away from Eliab.”

And spoke in the same way: the meaning is not that David’s manner of speech remained the same, but rather that he asked the same question as in verse 26.

The people answered him again as before: the people are again the Israelite soldiers (verse 27). Each time David asked another soldier, he received the same response.

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 .