This day: not the same day as verse 17, but the present time in contrast to the time of their ancestors (verse 18).

And you have said, ‘No! but: the better manuscripts of the Masoretic Text say “to him [God]” in place of “No.” The difference in spelling in Hebrew is very slight. The Septuagint and many Hebrew manuscripts say “No” and are followed by many translations (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the reading “to him.” The reading “to him” is followed by Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the word translated But in Revised Standard Version should be understood as an emphatic word meaning “Surely.” The following translation represents the suggestion of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament: “and you have said to him [God], ‘Surely [or, By all means] set a king over us.’ ”

The textual problem is complicated by the fact that the third person pronoun in the Masoretic Text, “to him,” will be inappropriate in a direct quotation where God is talking about people speaking to God. So a more natural translation is “to me” in place of “to him.”

Whichever textual option is chosen, the embedded quotation may have to be transformed from direct to indirect speech by saying something like “you have insisted on having a king over you.”

Now therefore: these words mark the transition to the beginning of God’s agreeing to the desires of the people of Israel.

Before the LORD: see also 15.33. Other renderings include “in the presence of Yahweh” (Klein). In some contexts the words present yourselves before the LORD means “to offer yourself in service to the LORD” (see Josh 24.1). The context here, however, suggests the sense of “stand in the presence of the LORD.” But since it is God who is speaking, it will be more natural in most languages to say “in my presence” or “in the presence of me, the LORD.” While the latter may sound awkward in English, it may prove natural in other languages.

By your tribes and by your thousands: on the translation of tribes see 2.28. Thousands refers to “clans” (New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or “lineages,” a smaller unit than tribes but larger than the family. See also 23.23 where thousands again means “clans.”

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 .