This question is also a rhetorical question. If the meaning is not clear in this form, it may be reworded in the form of an affirmation, following the Good News Translation model.

They sing: the Hebrew verb is masculine plural, not feminine plural. But in light of the explicit statement in 18.7 that the women sang this song, several translations (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje) state that “the women sang,” and this model may be followed in other languages. Translators are divided on whether the Hebrew verb translated they sing in Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, and New American Bible should be understood as a statement of what people regularly do or whether the verb refers to past action, as in Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, and Revised English Bible. Either interpretation is possible.

This song is found earlier in 18.7 and 21.11. Translators are reminded that the transition word (Revised Standard Version, and; Good News Translation, “but”) is crucial, as in the previous citations of this song. It is particularly significant that the Philistine commanders cite this song, since it was sung after David had killed Goliath, a Philistine!

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 .