1 Chronicles 16
1 They brought in the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent that David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship 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 finished sacrificing the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh.
When David had finished presenting all those offerings, he [asked Yahweh to] bless the people.
3 He distributed to every Israelite, both to men and women, a loaf of bread, and a piece 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 David appointed certain Levites to serve before the ark of Yahweh, and to celebrate, thank and praise Yahweh, 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 These Levites were Asaph the leader, and second to him Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel. These were to play with stringed instruments and with harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals, sounding loudly.
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 and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly, 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 appointed Asaph and his brothers to sing this song of thanksgiving to Yahweh.
On that day, David gave to Asaph and his helpers this psalm to praise Yahweh:
8 Give thanks to Yahweh, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations.
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; speak of all his marvelous deeds.
Sing to him; sing songs to praise him. Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
10 Boast in his holy name; let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
Be glad that you belong to him [MTY]; those who want to know Yahweh better should rejoice.
11 Seek Yahweh and his strength; seek his presence continually.
Trust in Yahweh and in his power; continually seek to get help from him.
12 Recall the marvelous things he has done, his miracles and the decrees from 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 descendants of Israel his servant, you people 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 Yahweh, our God. His decrees are on all the earth.
Yahweh is our God. His just/fair laws are known by people throughout the world.
15 Keep his covenant in mind forever, the word that he commanded for a thousand generations.
He never forgets the agreement that he has made: he made a promise that will last for 1,000 generations.
16 He calls to mind the covenant that he 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 This is what he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, and to Israel as an everlasting covenant.
It was an agreement for the Israeli people, and he wanted that agreement to endure forever.
18 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan as your share 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 they were only few in number, so very few, and they were strangers in the land,
[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 wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
they continued to wander from one place to another, from one kingdom to another.
21 He did not allow anyone to oppress them; he punished kings for their sakes.
But he did not allow others to oppress them, and he warned kings by saying to them,
22 he said, “Do not touch my anointed ones, and do not harm my prophets.”
“Do not harm the people whom I have chosen! Do not harm my prophets!”
23 Sing to Yahweh, all the earth; announce his salvation day after 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, his marvelous deeds among all the 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 Yahweh is great and is to be praised greatly, and he is to be feared above all other 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 nations are idols, but it is Yahweh who 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 in his presence. Strength and joy are in his place.
He is glorious and majestic; his power and joy fill his Sacred Tent.
28 Ascribe to Yahweh, you clans of peoples, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!
You people in nations all over the world, praise Yahweh! Praise Yahweh for his glorious power [HEN]!
29 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory his name deserves. Bring an offering and come before him. Bow down to Yahweh in the splendor 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 Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established; it cannot be shaken.
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, “Yahweh 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 that which fills it shout with joy. Let the fields be joyful, and all that is in them.
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 let the trees in the forest shout for joy before Yahweh, for he is coming 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 Yahweh, for he is good, for his covenant faithfulness endures forever.
Thank Yahweh, because [everything that he does is] good. He faithfully loves us forever.
35 Then say, “Save us, God of our salvation. Gather us together and rescue us from the other nations, so that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praises.”
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 May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting. All the people said, “Amen” and praised Yahweh.
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 David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, to serve continually before the ark, 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 Obed Edom with those sixty-eight relatives were included. Obed Edom son of Jeduthun, along with Hosah, were to be 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 Zadok the priest and his fellow priests were to serve before the tabernacle of Yahweh at the high place 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 They were to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar for burnt offerings continually morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of Yahweh, which he gave as a command 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 Heman and Jeduthun were with them, together with the rest who were chosen by name, to give thanks to Yahweh, because his covenant faithfulness 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 Heman and Jeduthun were in charge of those who played trumpets, cymbals, and the other instruments for the sacred music. The sons of Jeduthun guarded 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 Then all the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own household.
Then all the people left. They returned to their homes, and David returned home to [ask Yahweh to] bless his family.
