1 Chronicles 16

1 They brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had set up for it: and they offered burnt offerings 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 When David had made an end of offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of YHWH.

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

3 He dealt to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins.

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

4 He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of YHWH, and to celebrate and to thank and praise YHWH, the 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 second to him Zechariah, Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with stringed instruments and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;

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 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 first ordained 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 Oh give thanks to YHWH. Call on his name. Make his deeds 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 praises to him. Tell of all his marvelous works.

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

10 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek YHWH rejoice.

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 forever more.

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

12 Remember his marvelous works that he has 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 you offspring of Israel his servant, you descendants 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 YHWH 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 Remember his covenant forever, 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 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac.

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

17 He confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute, 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, "I will give you 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 you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners were 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 They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.

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

21 He allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,

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

22 "Do not touch my anointed ones. Do my prophets no harm."

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

23 Sing to YHWH, all the earth. Display 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 Declare his glory among the nations, and his marvelous works 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 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 peoples are idols, but YHWH 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 Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place.

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

28 Ascribe to YHWH, you relatives of the 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 due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship YHWH in holy array.

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 Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can't be 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. Let them say among the nations, "YHWH reigns."

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 its fullness. Let the field exult, 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 the trees of the forest will sing for joy before YHWH, for he comes 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 Oh give thanks to YHWH, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

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

35 Say, "Save us, God of our salvation. Gather us together 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 be YHWH, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And all the people said, "Amen," and praised 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 So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of YHWH, Asaph and his brothers, 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 brothers, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers;

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 tabernacle of YHWH 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 to YHWH on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of YHWH, which he commanded to 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 who were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to YHWH, because his loving kindness endures forever;

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 sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be 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 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.