People may refer to the “troops” here as in verse 31. The same words all the people seem to refer to all the troops in verse 37.

Took notice of it, and it pleased them: the pronoun it refers to the decision of the king to fast until evening. In some languages the structure may be turned around: “the people were satisfied with what the king did.” The writer then goes on to say that the people approved of everything that David did. New Century Version may serve as a possible model: “all the people saw what happened, and they agreed with what the king was doing….”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .