1 Chronicles 16
1 And they bring in the ark of God, and set it up in the midst of the tent that David hath stretched out for it, and they bring near 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 and David ceaseth from offering the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings, and blesseth the people in the name of Jehovah,
When David had finished presenting all those offerings, he [asked Yahweh to] bless the people.
3 and giveth 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 putteth before the ark of Jehovah, of the Levites, ministers, even to make mention of, and to thank, and to give praise to Jehovah, 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 with cymbals is sounding;
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] 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 On that day then hath David given at the beginning to give thanks to Jehovah by the hand of Asaph and his brethren: —
On that day, David gave to Asaph and his helpers this psalm to praise Yahweh:
8 Give thanks to Jehovah, call in His name, Make known among the peoples His doings.
Thank God, and pray to him [MTY]. Tell the people of all nations what he has done.
9 Sing ye 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, Rejoice doth the heart of those seeking Jehovah.
Be glad that you belong to him [MTY]; those who want to know Yahweh better should rejoice.
11 Seek ye Jehovah 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] Jehovah our God, In all the earth [are] His judgments.
Yahweh is our God. His just/fair laws are known by people throughout the world.
15 Remember ye to the age His covenant, The word 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 Which He hath 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 establisheth it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel — a covenant age-during.
It was an agreement for the Israeli people, and he wanted that agreement to endure forever.
18 Saying: To thee 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 ye are few of 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 unto nation, And from a kingdom unto another people.
they continued to wander from one place to another, from one kingdom to another.
21 He hath not suffered any to oppress them, And reproveth on their account kings:
But he did not allow others to oppress them, and he warned kings by saying to them,
22 Come not against Mine anointed ones, And against My prophets do not evil.
“Do not harm the people whom I have chosen! Do not harm my prophets!”
23 Sing to Jehovah, all the earth, Proclaim from day unto day His salvation.
You people throughout the world, sing to Yahweh. Every day proclaim [to others] that he has saved us.
24 Rehearse among nations His glory, Among all the peoples His wonders.
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] Jehovah, and praised greatly, And fearful He [is] 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] nought, And Jehovah the heavens hath made.
because all the gods that the [other] people-groups [worship] are only idols, but Yahweh [is truly great; he] created the skies.
27 Honour 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 Jehovah, ye families of peoples, Ascribe to Jehovah honour and strength.
You people in nations all over the world, praise Yahweh! Praise Yahweh for his glorious power [HEN]!
29 Ascribe to Jehovah the honour of His name, Lift up a present, and come before Him. Bow yourselves to Jehovah, 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:
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 Also, established is the world, It is not moved! The heavens rejoice, and the earth is glad, And they say among nations: Jehovah hath reigned.
Everything in the sky and on the earth should be happy. People [everywhere] should say, “Yahweh is our king!”
32 Roar doth the sea, and its fulness, Exult doth the field, 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 sing do trees of the forest, From the presence of Jehovah, For He hath 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 Jehovah, for good, For to the age, [is] His kindness,
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 Thy holy name, To triumph in Thy 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] Jehovah, God of Israel, From the age and unto the age;' And all the people say, 'Amen,' and have given praise to Jehovah.
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 leaveth there before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, for Asaph and for his brethren, 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 brethren, sixty and eight, 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 brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of Jehovah, 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 to ascend burnt-offerings to Jehovah, on the altar of burnt-offering continually, morning and evening, and for all that is written in the law of Jehovah, 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 Jehovah, for to the age [is] His kindness,
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 turneth round 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.
