And Jesse made seven of his sons pass: this should not be understood to mean seven more sons in addition to Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah. Jesse had a total of eight sons (17.12). By beginning this verse with the words “In this way,” Good News Translation attempts to indicate that these seven are all of his sons, not seven in addition to the three mentioned by name. Another way of handling this ambiguity is to say “Jesse had all seven of his sons go over to Samuel” (Contemporary English Version). But since this may give the mistaken impression that Jesse had only seven sons, it may be better to say “all together Jesse sent seven of his sons to appear before Samuel.” Since three sons have been specifically named, some languages may have to say something like “Jesse presented four more of his sons.”

In contrast with the earlier statements of rejection, which do not indicate to whom Samuel was talking, the text here says that Samuel spoke directly to Jesse, stating that the LORD had not chosen any of the sons that he had seen.

If it is more natural to do so, the second half of this verse may be made into indirect discourse by saying “Samuel told Jesse that the LORD had not chosen any of these [seven sons].”

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 .