In some languages it will be more natural to reverse the order of the elements when translating Here I am, for you called me. Some may say, for example, “You called me, so I came to you.” But others may prefer “I came here because you called me.”

The third person singular Hebrew verbs in this verse have no explicit subject. To avoid confusion Good News Translation identifies Eli as the one who said “I did not call” and Samuel as the one who went and lay down.

It should be made clear in translation that Eli is instructing Samuel to go back to his own bed and lie down again. Unless special care is taken, some readers might understand that Samuel was to lie down where he was. In English it is quite natural to say “go back to bed” as in Good News Translation and New Century Version.

As a result of Eli’s instructions, Samuel went back to his own bed to go to sleep again. The connecting word So is used to translate the common Hebrew conjunction in order to emphasize the logical relationship between the instructions and Samuel’s action.

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 .