1 Chronicles 16 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Events around 1000 BC, early in David's reign in Jerusalem; the book itself was written roughly 450 to 400 BC, after the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon
Location
Jerusalem, the newly captured hill fortress David had made his capital, where he pitched a tent for the ark of the covenant on Mount Zion
Audience
Jews living back in the land after the Babylonian exile, rebuilding a small temple-centered community under Persian rule and asking whether they were still God's people
Situation
The ark, the gold-covered chest holding the tablets of the law and the sign of God's presence, is set inside the tent David prepared, and he offers sacrifices and hands out food to the whole crowd. He then appoints Levites as a permanent choir before the ark and gives them a psalm of thanks to sing.
Key Background
For a century the ark had been in storage at Kiriath-jearim, so bringing it to Jerusalem fused the nation's worship to David's new capital and made a politically neutral Jebusite city into the religious center of Israel. Ancient kings routinely installed a god's image in a capital shrine to bind divine favor to their rule, but Israel's ark held law tablets rather than a statue, and the psalm here stresses that the God enthroned there made the heavens rather than being made by human hands. The Chronicler's first readers had no king and only a modest rebuilt temple, so the emphasis falls on the singers and the liturgy, the parts of David's arrangement they could still keep.
They brought the chest of God in and set it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered up and before God.
When David finished offering the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he a of the people in the name of Yahweh.
He distributed to every person in Israel — every man and woman — a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a of
He appointed some of the Levites to serve before the chest of Yahweh — to to give thanks, and praise Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Asaph was the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with lyres and harps. Asaph sounded the cymbals.
Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets regularly before the chest of God's covenant.
That was the day David first entrusted Asaph and his relatives with this of to Yahweh:
Give thanks to Yahweh, out — let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him, make music for him — turn over in your mind all his
Take pride in his the no other, let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh celebrate.
Look to Yahweh and strength — always.
Remember the wonders he has done, extraordinary acts, the from —
you descendants of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his
He is Yahweh our God— his decisions govern the whole earth.
Remember his forever — the word he commanded for a
the covenant he with Abraham, his solemn oath to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a binding decree, to Israel as a covenant that lasts forever:
"To you I will give the land of Canaan as your
When you were few in number, barely anything, and strangers in the land,
wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another,
he let no one oppress them— he rebuked kings for their sake:
"Don't touch my ones, don't harm my
Sing to Yahweh, all the earth! Announce his day after day.
Tell the nations about his weightiness, all peoples about his wonders.
For Yahweh is great and deeply worthy of praise — he is to be in above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.
and stand before him, strength and joy fill his dwelling place.
Give Yahweh his due, you families of nations— give Yahweh the honor due his weightiness.
Give Yahweh the honor name deserves, bring an offering and come before him. Bow down to Yahweh, dressed in the for
Tremble before him, all the earth! The world stands firm—it cannot be shaken.
Let the heavens celebrate, let the earth be glad! Let them say among the nations:
Let the sea roar, and everything in it! Let the fields celebrate, and everything growing in them!
Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before Yahweh, for he comes to the
Give thanks to Yahweh, because he is good — his never runs out.
Say: us, who us! Gather us and pull us free from the nations, so we can give thanks to your the no other, and find our confidence in praising you."
All to Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!" And all the people said, it be so!" and praised Yahweh.
David left Asaph and his relatives there before the chest of Yahweh's covenant to serve before the chest regularly, as each day required.
He also left Obed-edom and his sixty-eight relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah served as gatekeepers.
He left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the of at the in Gibeon,
to offer burnt offerings to on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, and to do everything written in the of that he commanded Israel.
With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen by name to give thanks to Yahweh, because his committed love never runs out.
Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the musicians, and instruments for the songs of God. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.
Then all the people went home, and David turned to go a of his own household.