As the context makes clear, the Philistine is Goliath.

Took … and brought: These two verbs are probably to be understood in the sense that Abner “took him and presented him to Saul” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “sought him out and led him to Saul” (Bible en français courant). But since they are somewhat redundant, it may be better in certain languages to translate the two by a single verb in the receptor language.

His hand: the pronoun his almost certainly refers to David, just as the pronoun him does. The addition of the word “still” in Good News Translation suggests that the antecedent of the pronoun is David and not Abner, since David would have been the first to pick up Goliath’s head. To avoid the ambiguity, however, Good News Translation uses the proper noun, David, rather than the pronoun.

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 .