1 Chronicles 16

1 SO they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.

They brought the Sacred Chest [to Gibeon] and put it inside the Sacred Tent that David had [told his workers to] set up. Then they brought offerings to be completely burned [on the altar] and offerings to enable them to maintain fellowship [with God].

2 And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

When David had finished presenting all those offerings, he [asked Yahweh to] bless the people.

3 And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.

He gave a loaf of bread, some dates, and some raisins to every Israeli man and woman [who was there].

4 And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:

Then David appointed some of the descendants of Levi to stand in front of [the Sacred Tent in which] the Sacred Chest [had been placed], to lead the people who worshiped and thanked and praised Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people.

5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals;

Asaph, who played the cymbals, was their leader. Zechariah was his assistant. The other descendants of Levi [who helped Asaph] were Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They played lyres and harps.

6 Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

Benaiah and Jahaziel were priests who blew trumpets frequently in front of [the Sacred Tent in which was] the Sacred Chest.

7 Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

On that day, David gave to Asaph and his helpers this psalm to praise Yahweh:

8 Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

Thank God, and pray to him [MTY]. Tell the people of all nations what he has done.

9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Sing to him; sing songs to praise him. Tell about all his miraculous deeds.

10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

Be glad that you belong to him [MTY]; those who want to know Yahweh better should rejoice.

11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

Trust in Yahweh and in his power; continually seek to get help from him.

12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

Do not forget the wonderful things that he has done, the miracles and the just laws that he has given to us.

13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

We people are the descendants of his servant Jacob; we are the people of Israel whom he has chosen.

14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

Yahweh is our God. His just/fair laws are known by people throughout the world.

15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

He never forgets the agreement that he has made: he made a promise that will last for 1,000 generations.

16 Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;

That is the agreement that he made with Abraham, and he repeated that agreement to Isaac.

17 And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

It was an agreement for the Israeli people, and he wanted that agreement to endure forever.

18 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;

What he said was, “I will give the Canaan region to you, to belong to you [and your descendants forever].”

19 When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.

[He said that to them] when there were only a few of them, a tiny group of people who were living in that land (like strangers/that belonged to other people);

20 And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;

they continued to wander from one place to another, from one kingdom to another.

21 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,

But he did not allow others to oppress them, and he warned kings by saying to them,

22 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

“Do not harm the people whom I have chosen! Do not harm my prophets!”

23 Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.

You people throughout the world, sing to Yahweh. Every day proclaim [to others] that he has saved us.

24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.

Tell the people of the nations that he is great; tell all the people-groups the marvelous things [that he has done].

25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

Yahweh is great, and he deserves to be praised very much. He should be revered more than all the gods,

26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

because all the gods that the [other] people-groups [worship] are only idols, but Yahweh [is truly great; he] created the skies.

27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

He is glorious and majestic; his power and joy fill his Sacred Tent.

28 Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

You people in nations all over the world, praise Yahweh! Praise Yahweh for his glorious power [HEN]!

29 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Praise Yahweh like he [MTY] deserves to be praised. Bring an offering and come to his Sacred Tent. Worship Yahweh because he is holy.

30 Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

Everyone on the earth should tremble in front of Yahweh. He put the earth firmly [in its place]; and nothing ever will be able to move/shake it.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.

Everything in the sky and on the earth should be happy. People [everywhere] should say, “Yahweh is our king!”

32 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.

The oceans and all the creatures that are in the oceans should shout to praise him; the fields and everything that is in them should rejoice.

33 Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.

When they do that, [it will be as though] the trees in the forest will sing joyfully in front of Yahweh. That will happen when he comes to judge [everyone on] [MTY] the earth.

34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Thank Yahweh, because [everything that he does is] good. He faithfully loves us forever.

35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.

Say to him, “God, you are the one who rescues us, so gather us together and save us from [the armies of] other nations. When you do that, we will thank you [MTY], and we will be happy to praise you.”

36 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.

Praise Yahweh, the God of us Israeli people, He has always existed, and he will exist forever. After the people [finished singing that song], they all said, “(Amen/May it be so)!”, and they praised Yahweh.

37 So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required:

Then David left Asaph and the other members of his clan there in front of [the tent in which] Yahweh’s Sacred Chest [had been placed]. He told them that they must do their work there every day.

38 And Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:

David also left Obed-Edom and 68 other descendants of Levi to work with them. Hosah and Obed-Edom guarded [the entrances of the Sacred Tent].

39 And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon,

David also told Zadok the [Supreme] Priest and the other priests who worked with him to remain in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Tent, which was still at the place where the Israeli people worshiped [God there] in Gibeon [city].

40 To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel;

Every morning and every evening they burned offerings on the altar, obeying the rules/laws that had been written [by Moses], rules/laws which Yahweh had given to the Israeli people.

41 And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever;

With them were Heman and Jeduthun and other descendants of Levi. They [MTY] were chosen to sing songs to praise Yahweh because he faithfully loves his people forever.

42 And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.

Heman and Jeduthun were appointed to play the trumpets and cymbals when [the other descendants of Levi sang sacred songs]. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to guard the gates [of the Sacred Tent].

43 And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

Then all the people left. They returned to their homes, and David returned home to [ask Yahweh to] bless his family.