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].
They brought the Ark of God and placed it in the tent that David had prepared for it. They presented burnt offerings and friendship offerings to God.
2 When David had finished presenting all those offerings, he [asked Yahweh to] bless the people.
Once David had finished presenting the burnt offerings and friendship 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].
Then he shared out to every Israelite, to every man and woman, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.
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.
David assigned some of the Levites to serve as ministers before the Ark of the Lord, to remember, to thank, and to 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 one in charge, Zechariah was second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played harps and lyres, and Asaph struck the cymbals,
6 Benaiah and Jahaziel were priests who blew trumpets frequently in front of [the Sacred Tent in which was] the Sacred Chest.
and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets continually in front of the Ark of God's Agreement.
7 On that day, David gave to Asaph and his helpers this psalm to praise Yahweh:
This was the day that David first instructed Asaph and his relatives to express thanks to the Lord in this way:
8 Thank God, and pray to him [MTY]. Tell the people of all nations what he has done.
Give the Lord thanks, worship his wonderful nature, let people know what he's done!
9 Sing to him; sing songs to praise him. Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praises; tell everyone the great things he's done!
10 Be glad that you belong to him [MTY]; those who want to know Yahweh better should rejoice.
Be proud of his holy character; be happy, all who come to the Lord!
11 Trust in Yahweh and in his power; continually seek to get help from him.
Look for the Lord, and his strength; always look to be with him.
12 Do not forget the wonderful things that he has done, the miracles and the just laws that he has given to us.
Remember all the wonderful things he's done, the miracles he's performed, and the judgments he's carried out,
13 We people are the descendants of his servant Jacob; we are the people of Israel whom he has chosen.
descendants of Israel, children of Jacob, his chosen people.
14 Yahweh is our God. His just/fair laws are known by people throughout the world.
He is the Lord, our God, his judgments cover the whole earth.
15 He never forgets the agreement that he has made: he made a promise that will last for 1,000 generations.
He remembers his agreement forever, the promise he made lasts for a thousand generations;
16 That is the agreement that he made with Abraham, and he repeated that agreement to Isaac.
the agreement he made with Abraham, the vow he gave to Isaac.
17 It was an agreement for the Israeli people, and he wanted that agreement to endure forever.
The Lord legally confirmed it with Jacob, he made this everlasting agreement with Israel:
18 What he said was, “I will give the Canaan region to you, to belong to you [and your descendants forever].”
saying, “I will give the land of Canaan to you for you to possess.”
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);
He said this when there were only a few of you, just a small group of foreigners in the land.
20 they continued to wander from one place to another, from one kingdom to another.
They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to the next.
21 But he did not allow others to oppress them, and he warned kings by saying to them,
He didn't let anyone one treat them badly; warning kings to leave them alone:
22 “Do not harm the people whom I have chosen! Do not harm my prophets!”
“Don't touch my chosen people; don't harm 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, sing to the Lord! Each day let everyone know of his salvation!
24 Tell the people of the nations that he is great; tell all the people-groups the marvelous things [that he has done].
Declare his glorious acts among the nations, the wonderful things he does among all 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 deserves the best praise! He is to be respected with awe 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 other nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens!
27 He is glorious and majestic; his power and joy fill his Sacred Tent.
Splendor and majesty are his; power and glory are in his sanctuary.
28 You people in nations all over the world, praise Yahweh! Praise Yahweh for his glorious power [HEN]!
Give the Lord credit, nations of the world, credit him with glory and strength.
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 the Lord the glory he deserves; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in his magnificent holiness.
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 everyone on earth tremble in his presence. The world is held together firmly—it cannot be broken apart.
31 Everything in the sky and on the earth should be happy. People [everywhere] should say, “Yahweh is our king!”
Let the heavens sing for joy, let the earth be happy. Tell the nations, “The Lord is in charge!”
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 and everything in it shout with praise! Let the fields and everything there celebrate;
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.
Let all the trees in the forest sing for joy, for he is coming to judge the earth.
34 Thank Yahweh, because [everything that he does is] good. He faithfully loves us forever.
Say thank you to the Lord, for he is good! His trustworthy love continues forever!
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.”
Shout out, “Save us, Lord, our God! Bring us back together from among the nations, rescue us, so we can thank you and praise how magnificent and holy you are.”
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.
How wonderful is the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives forever and ever! Then all the people said, “Amen!” and “Praise 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.
Then David made sure Asaph and his brothers would minister continually before the Ark of the Lord's Agreement, performing whatever services were needed every day,
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].
as well as Obed-edom and his sixty-eight relatives. Obed-edom, son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, were gatekeepers.
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].
David put Zadok the priest and his fellow priests in charge of the Ark of the Lord at the high place 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.
to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offerings, morning and evening, according to all that was written in the law of the Lord which he had ordered Israel to follow.
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.
They were accompanied by Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and identified by name to give thanks to the Lord, for “His trustworthy love lasts 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].
Heman and Jeduthun used their trumpets and cymbals to make music to accompany the songs of God. The sons of Jeduthun guarded the gate.
43 Then all the people left. They returned to their homes, and David returned home to [ask Yahweh to] bless his family.
Then all the people went home, and David went to bless his family.
