The verb said will be better rendered “replied” (New Jerusalem Bible) in certain languages, because this is a part of an ongoing conversation.

Samuel responds by repeating the main word in the elders’ question, Peaceably. He then goes on to state more specifically why he has come. But in some languages it may be much more natural to begin his answer by a simple “Yes” (New Jerusalem Bible as well as Good News Translation).

Consecrate yourselves: ritual purity was required before certain religious practices could be performed, and specific cleansings were required for different forms of ritual impurity. Compare Exo 19.9-15, where Moses consecrates the people of Israel. The verb used here and repeated in the following sentence contains the root meaning “holy.” It has to do with being set aside for a particular purpose, or being withdrawn from ordinary use to serve God in some way. In this case the elders of Bethlehem are instructed to devote themselves exclusively to the sacrifice Samuel was about to make.

He consecrated Jesse and his sons: the Hebrew states that Samuel consecrated Jesse and his son, not that they consecrated themselves, as Good News Translation states. Compare the consecration of Eleazar in 7.1.

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 .