1 Chronicles 16

So they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had put up for it. Then they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.

1So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.

NoteThe ark of God was a gold-covered wooden chest holding the stone tablets of the covenant; it was treated as the place where God's presence met Israel, and it was normally kept behind a curtain in a tent shrine. There was no temple yet, so David had set up a new tent for it in Jerusalem. A burnt offering was an animal killed and burned whole on the altar, given entirely to God. A peace offering (sometimes called a fellowship offering) was burned only in part; the rest was eaten as a shared meal by the worshipers, so it went with celebrations.

2When David had finished presenting the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD.

2And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD.

NoteBlessing the people "in the name of the LORD" means speaking a set form of words over them asking God's favor, a formal, public act, usually done by priests.

3He handed out a share to every person in Israel, both men and women. Each one got a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins.

3And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.

NoteThe three items are less certain than they look. The Hebrew word behind "a portion of meat" occurs only here and in the parallel passage, and translators have guessed at a cut of meat, a date cake, or simply a measured portion; the KJV's "flagon of wine" is another such guess. A raisin cake was pressed dried grapes, a compact festival food.

4David put some of the Levites in charge of serving before the ark of the LORD. Their job was to keep the LORD in the people's memory, and to thank and praise the LORD, the God of Israel.

4And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel:

NoteThe Levites were members of the tribe of Levi, set apart for work at the sanctuary. Those who were not descended from Aaron could not serve as priests at the altar, so they did the supporting work: music, guarding the gates, and caring for the equipment. The KJV's "to record" translates a Hebrew verb meaning to bring to mind or to invoke, here a technical term for a kind of public praise that keeps God's deeds in the nation's memory.

5Asaph was the leader, and Zechariah was second to him. Then came Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played stringed instruments and harps, while Asaph sounded the cymbals.

5Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals;

NoteThe two instruments are the nevel and the kinnor, both stringed and both plucked; the exact difference between them is unknown, so translations vary between "lyre" and "harp." Cymbals were large bronze plates used to mark the beat. Note that Jeiel appears twice in this list; the Hebrew text as it stands names ten men with one name repeated, and it is unclear whether this is two different men or a copying slip.

6The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets on a regular schedule before the ark of the covenant of God.

6Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

Note"The ark of the covenant" is the same chest as in verse 1, named for the covenant tablets kept inside it. The trumpets here are the straight silver trumpets blown only by priests, used for signals and ceremony, not the curved ram's horn.

7That was the day when David first handed over this song of thanks to the LORD, giving it to Asaph and his fellow Levites to sing.

7Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

NoteThe song that follows in verses 8–36 is made up of material found elsewhere in the book of Psalms: verses 8–22 match Psalm 105:1–15, verses 23–33 match Psalm 96, and verses 34–36 match Psalm 106:1 and 47–48. The Chronicler presents it as the piece David handed over to the temple singers.

8Give thanks to the LORD. Call on his name. Tell the nations what he has done.

8Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

9Sing to him, sing praises to him. Talk about all the wonderful things he has done.

9Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

10Take pride in his holy name. Let everyone who looks for the LORD be glad in their heart.

10Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

11Look to the LORD and to his strength. Keep on searching for his face.

11Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

Note"Seek his face" is court language: to seek someone's face is to seek an audience with them, to come into their presence, as a subject would with a king.

12Remember the amazing works he has done, his wonders, and the judgments he has spoken.

12Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

13Remember them, you descendants of Israel, God's servant. Remember them, you children of Jacob, the ones God chose.

13O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

NoteIsrael and Jacob are the same man under two names, so both halves of the line address the same people: his descendants. The wording here differs slightly from Psalm 105:6, which reads "Abraham his servant."

14He is the LORD our God. His judgments reach across the whole earth.

14He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

15Always keep his covenant in mind, the promise he gave for a thousand generations.

15Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

NoteA covenant was a formal binding agreement, close to a treaty, spelling out promises and obligations and sealed by an oath. Ancient treaties were often between a ruler and a subject people; this one is presented as God's sworn commitment to a family and its descendants.

16That is the covenant he made with Abraham, and the oath he swore to Isaac.

16Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;

NoteAbraham, Isaac and Jacob are three generations of one family (grandfather, son, grandson), so the point is that the same promise was renewed to each of them in turn.

17He made it stand for Jacob as a settled rule, and for Israel as a covenant that lasts forever.

17And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

18He said, "I will give you the land of Canaan. It will be the share you inherit."

18Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;

NoteCanaan is the older name for the territory later known as Israel. "The share you inherit" translates a term for a permanent family landholding, the sort passed from parent to child and not meant to be sold off; the land was later divided among the tribes by casting lots.

19He said this when they were only a few people, very few, and were foreigners living in that land.

19When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.

Note"Foreigners" here means resident aliens, people living in a country long-term without owning land there or holding the rights of native families, and so dependent on local goodwill for protection.

20They moved from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people.

20And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;

21He allowed no one to mistreat them. For their sake he corrected kings, saying:

21He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,

22"Do not touch the ones I have chosen and set apart. Do not harm my prophets."

22Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

NoteTo anoint someone was to pour olive oil on their head as a public sign that they had been marked out for a particular role, most often king or priest. Here the word is applied to the wandering ancestors of Israel, who held no such office, the sense is simply that God had claimed them as his own.

23Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Announce day after day that he saves.

23Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.

24Tell the nations about his glory. Tell all peoples about the amazing things he does.

24Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.

NoteThe KJV's "heathen" and "nations" translate a single Hebrew word meaning the other peoples of the world, those who are not Israel. It is a plain word for foreign nations and does not carry the contempt that "heathen" has picked up in English.

25The LORD is great, and he deserves great praise. He is to be held in awe more than all gods.

25For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

Note"Feared" in this older English sense means held in awe and treated with reverence, not frightened of.

26All the gods of the nations are only idols, but the LORD is the one who made the heavens.

26For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

NoteThe Hebrew word for "idols" here is a mocking one: it means worthless things or nothings, and it deliberately echoes the ordinary word for gods. An idol was a carved or cast image of a god, treated as the place where that god was present.

27Splendor and honor are right there in front of him. Strength and joy fill the place where he lives.

27Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

28Give to the LORD, you families of the nations. Give to the LORD glory and strength.

28Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.

29Give the LORD the glory his name deserves. Bring an offering and come to him. Worship the LORD in the beauty of his holiness.

29Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Note"Bring an offering" uses the word for a gift or tribute of the kind a subject brings to a ruler. "The beauty of holiness" is genuinely ambiguous in the Hebrew: it can mean the splendor of God's holy dwelling, or holy attire, the special garments worn for worship. Translators have gone both ways for centuries.

30Tremble before him, all the earth. The world stands firm, and it cannot be shaken.

30Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

31Let the heavens be glad and the earth be full of joy. Let people say among the nations, "The LORD is king!"

31Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.

Note"The LORD is king" is an acclamation, the shout raised when a new king takes the throne, the crowd announcing publicly who now rules.

32Let the sea roar, and everything in it. Let the fields be full of joy, and everything in them.

32Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.

33Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy in front of the LORD, because he is coming to judge the earth.

33Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth.

34Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good. His faithful love lasts forever.

34O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

NoteThe word behind "faithful love" is hesed, which has no single English equivalent. It means loyal, committed kindness of the sort owed within a lasting relationship, mercy, but mercy that keeps its word. Older Bibles render it "mercy," "lovingkindness" or "steadfast love."

35And say this: "Save us, God who saves us. Gather us together and rescue us from the nations, so we can give thanks to your holy name and be proud to praise you."

35And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.

NoteThis line asks to be gathered and rescued from among the nations, which assumes Israelites scattered abroad. It is taken from Psalm 106:47, and it fits the situation of readers long after David's time rather than David's own day.

36May the LORD, the God of Israel, be blessed from forever past to forever ahead. Then all the people said, "Amen," and they praised the LORD.

36Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

Note"Amen" is a Hebrew word meaning something like "it is firm" or "truly." Said by a crowd at the end of a prayer or blessing, it is how the people signed on to what had just been spoken.

37So David left Asaph and his fellow Levites there in front of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to serve before the ark all the time, doing what each day called for.

37So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required:

38He also left Obed-edom and sixty-eight of their relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, were to guard the gates.

38And Obededom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obededom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:

NoteGatekeepers guarded the entrances to the sanctuary, controlling who and what could come in, a role that mattered because access to a holy place was strictly limited. The verse is awkward in Hebrew: Obed-edom is named twice, and it is unclear whether one man or two men of the same name are meant.

39David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests in front of the LORD's tabernacle, the tent of worship at the high place in Gibeon.

39And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,

NoteThe tabernacle was the portable tent-sanctuary made in Moses's time, distinct from the new tent David had just pitched in Jerusalem. A high place was an open-air worship site, usually on raised ground with an altar. Gibeon lay about six miles northwest of Jerusalem, so at this point Israel had two working centers of worship: the ark in Jerusalem, the old tabernacle and its altar at Gibeon.

40Their job was to present burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar for burnt offerings, morning and evening, without fail. They were to do everything written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded Israel.

40To offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded Israel;

NoteThis is the standing daily sacrifice, one lamb burned in the morning and one in the evening, laid down in the law of Moses. "Without fail" translates a word meaning continually, on an unbroken schedule.

41With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest of the men who were chosen and named for this work, to give thanks to the LORD, because his faithful love lasts forever.

41And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever;

42Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the players who made the music, along with instruments for the songs of God. The sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers.

42And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.

Note"Instruments for the songs of God" means instruments reserved for sacred music rather than ordinary entertainment.

43Then all the people went home, each to his own house, and David went back to bless his household.

43And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

NoteTo bless his household means to speak a formal blessing over his own family, the same kind of act David performed for the whole people in verse 2.