1 Chronicles 16

1 And they bring in the Ark of God, and set it up in the midst of the tent that David has stretched out for it, and they bring burnt-offerings and peace-offerings near 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 David ceases from offering the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings, and blesses the people in the Name of YHWH,

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

3 and gives a portion to every man of Israel, both man and woman: to each a cake of bread, and a measure of wine, and a grape-cake.

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

4 And he puts before the Ark of YHWH, those ministering from the Levites, even to make mention of, and to thank, and to give praise to YHWH, 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 head, and his second Zechariah; Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of psalteries, and with harps; and Asaph is sounding 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 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests [are] continually [sounding] with trumpets 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 On that day, at that time, David has given at the beginning to give thanks to YHWH by the hand of Asaph and his brothers:

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

8 “Give thanks to YHWH, call on His Name, Make His doings known among the peoples.

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

9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him, Meditate on all His wonders.

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

10 Boast yourselves in His Holy Name, The heart of those seeking YHWH rejoices.

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

11 Seek YHWH and His strength, Seek His face continually.

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

12 Remember His wonders that He did, His signs, 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 seed of Israel, His servant, O sons 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] our God YHWH, His judgments [are] in all the earth.

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

15 Remember His covenant for all time, The word He commanded—To one thousand generations,

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

16 Which He has made with Abraham, And His oath—to Isaac,

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

17 And He establishes it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel [for] a perpetual covenant,

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

18 Saying, To you I give the land of Canaan, The portion 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 you were few in number, As a little thing, and sojourners 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 they go up and down, From nation to nation, And from a kingdom to another people.

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

21 He has not permitted any to oppress them, And reproves kings on their account:

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

22 Do not come against My anointed ones, And do no evil against My prophets.

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

23 Sing to YHWH, all the earth, Proclaim His salvation from day to day.

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

24 Recount His glory among nations, His wonders among all the peoples.

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] YHWH, and greatly praised, And He [is] fearful 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 gods of the peoples [are] nothing, And YHWH has 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 Splendor and majesty [are] before Him, Strength and joy [are] in His place.

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

28 Ascribe to YHWH, you families of peoples, Ascribe to YHWH glory and strength.

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

29 Ascribe to YHWH the glory of His Name, Lift up a present, and come before Him. Bow yourselves to YHWH, 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 Be pained before Him, all the earth; Also, the world is established, It is 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 The heavens rejoice, and the earth is glad, And they say among nations, YHWH has reigned!

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

32 The sea roars, and its fullness, The field exults, and all that [is] in it,

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 trees of the forest sing, From the presence of YHWH, For He has come 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 Give thanks to YHWH, for [He is] good, For His kindness [is] for all time,

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

35 And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us, and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Your Holy Name, To triumph in Your 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 [is] YHWH, God of Israel, From age to age”; And all the people say, “Amen,” and have given praise to YHWH.

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 And he leaves there [those] of Asaph and of his brothers, before the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, to minister before the Ark continually, according to the matter of a day in its day;

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 both Obed-Edom and their sixty-eight brothers, and Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, for gatekeepers;

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 brothers the priests, before the Dwelling Place of YHWH, in a high place that [is] in 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 cause burnt-offerings to ascend continually to YHWH on the altar of burnt-offering, morning and evening, and for all that is written in the Law of YHWH that He charged on 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 [are] Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen, who were defined by name, to give thanks to YHWH, for His kindness [is] for all time;

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—[are] trumpets and cymbals for those sounding, and instruments of the song of God, and the sons of Jeduthun [are] at the gate.

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 go, each to his house, and David turns around 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.