Two events are mentioned in the Hebrew text. Good News Translation shows the logical time relationship between the two events by saying “After they had killed the bull….”

They slew the bull: the antecedent of the pronoun they is not clear in Hebrew, since Hannah has been the subject of the verbs in the previous verse. Are the agents the temple attendants? Samuel’s parents? Quite possibly the referent is intentionally vague, meaning some unknown persons.

The Septuagint has a longer text for this verse that reads as follows: “They led him before the Lord, and his father burned the victim which he offered each year to the Lord, and he led the child, and he [the father] burned the bull. And Hannah his mother led the child to Eli.” New American Bible, based on a suggested change in the Hebrew text under the influence of the Septuagint, reads “After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah his mother approached Eli.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends that translators follow the Masoretic Text here (see the comments on verse 24). So in languages that freely use passive verb forms, it will be possible to say “When the bull had been killed, the child was brought to Eli.” But in other languages the third person plural pronoun “they” is used for indefinite reference, so a more literal rendering will be acceptable.

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 .