1 Chronicles 16

1 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].

And so they took the ark of God, and they set it in the midst of the tabernacle, which David had pitched for it. And they offered holocausts and peace offerings before God.

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

And when David had completed offering holocausts and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

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

And he divided to every single one, from men even to women, a twist of bread, and a piece of roasted beef, and fine wheat flour fried with oil.

4 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.

And he appointed some from the Levites who would minister before the ark of the Lord, and commemorate his works, and glorify and praise the Lord, the God of Israel.

5 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.

Asaph was the leader, and second to him was Zechariah. In addition, there were Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom. And Jeiel was over the instruments of the psaltery and the harps. But Asaph sounded out with the cymbals.

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

Truly, the priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, were to sound the trumpet continually before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

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

In that day, David made Asaph the leader, in order to confess to the Lord with his brothers:

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

“Confess to the Lord, and invoke his name. Make known his endeavors among the peoples.

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

Sing to him, and sing psalms to him, and describe all his miracles.

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

Praise his holy name! Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

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

Seek the Lord and his virtue. Seek his face always.

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

Remember his miracles, which he has accomplished, his signs, and the judgments of his mouth.

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

O offspring of Israel, his servants! O sons of Jacob, his elect!

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

He is the Lord our God. His judgments are throughout all the earth.

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

Remember forever his covenant, the word that he instructed unto a thousand generations,

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

the covenant that he formed with Abraham, and his oath with Isaac.

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

And he appointed the same to Jacob as a precept, and to Israel as an everlasting pact,

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

saying: ‘To you, I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.’

19 [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);

At that time, they were small in number, they were few and were settlers there.

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

And they passed through, from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people.

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

He did not permit anyone to falsely accuse them. Instead, he reproved kings on their behalf:

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

‘Do not touch my Christ. And do not malign my prophets.’

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

Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Announce his salvation, from day to day.

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

Describe his glory among the Gentiles, his miracles among all the peoples.

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

For the Lord is great and exceedingly praiseworthy. And he is terrible, above all gods.

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

For all the gods of the peoples are idols. But the Lord made the heavens.

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

Confession and magnificence are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place.

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

Bring to the Lord, O families of the peoples, bring to the Lord glory and dominion.

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

Give glory to the Lord, to his name. Lift up sacrifice, and approach before his sight. And adore the Lord in holy attire.

30 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.

Let all the earth be moved before his face. For he founded the globe immoveable.

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

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth exult. And let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord has reigned.’

32 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.

Let the sea roar, with all its plenitude. Let the fields exult, with all that is in them.

33 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.

Then the trees of the forest will give praise before the Lord. For he comes to judge the earth.

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

Confess to the Lord, for he is good. For his mercy is eternal.

35 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.”

And say: ‘Save us, O God our savior! And gather us together, and rescue us from the nations, so that we may confess to your holy name, and may exult in your songs.

36 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.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen,’ and let them sing a hymn to the Lord.”

37 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.

And so, there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, he left Asaph and his brothers, so that they might minister in the sight of the ark continually, throughout each day, and in their turns.

38 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].

Now Obededom and his brothers were sixty-eight. And he appointed Obededom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah to be porters.

39 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].

But Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, were before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place, which was in Gibeon,

40 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.

so that they could offer holocausts to the Lord upon the altar of holocausts continually, morning and evening, according to all that was written in the law of the Lord, which he instructed to Israel.

41 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.

And after him, Heman, and Jeduthun, and the remainder of the elect, each one by his name, were appointed to confess to the Lord: “For his mercy endures forever.”

42 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].

Also Heman and Jeduthun sounded the trumpet, and they played upon the cymbals, and upon every kind of musical instrument, in order to sing praises to God. But the sons of Jeduthun he made to be porters.

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

And all the people returned to their houses, and David also, so that he might bless his own house too.