The singers were divided into two groups who sang responsively. The second group repeated and echoed what was sung by the first group.
Praising and giving thanks to the LORD: The singing was for two purposes that are closely related. In addition to praise that was already specified in the preceding verse, here the people are also giving thanks, which is from a Hebrew word that also includes praise and celebration. New English Bible says “praises and thanks giving to the LORD,” while Good News Translation combines the two into one with “the LORD’s praises.”
For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel: This is what they sang. Most of the text of this song is a refrain that is found in several Psalms (100.5; 106.1; 107.1; 118.1, 29; 136.1) and also in Jeremiah (33.11). It was sung when the covenant box was brought to Jerusalem in the time of David (1 Chr 16.34), when the covenant box was brought into the Temple in the time of Solomon (2 Chr 5.13), and at the dedication of the Temple (2 Chr 7.3).
In some cultures it may be difficult to describe God abstractly as being good. It may be necessary to state this in the form of a verb: “he is the one who does good [things].”
The Hebrew word translated steadfast love or “faithful love” is chesed. This word is connected with the idea of the covenant and may refer to “covenant love” or “faithfulness to the covenant.” It is a term that was frequently used to refer to God’s covenant relationship with his people Israel. It is translated by a variety of different terms. It may be rendered simply as “love” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New International Version) or “kindness” (Nouvelle version Segond révisée), or it may be “faithfulness” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), “faithful love” (Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation), or “mercy” (New King James Version , La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous). Some languages will prefer to state this verbally, for example, “he loves the people of Israel forever” or “he acts with kindness toward Israel forever.”
The song is a very short poem in two parts or two lines. The first part is very short and simple (For he is good). The second part is an expansion and intensification of the first (for his steadfast love endures for ever toward Israel). The Hebrew wording is literally “For [he is] good; for forever his love [is] to Israel.” The two occurrences of For introduce the reasons for praising and giving thanks. In English they could be expressed as “Because,” but Good News Translation omits them to put the lines in a form that could be sung. It is a song and therefore should be presented in the format of a poem as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done. If it is presented in two lines, the first line should be the first part of the poem and the second line should be the second part. It can also be formatted for three lines with an exclamation mark after the first line as in Contemporary English Version:
The LORD is good!
His faithful love for Israel
will last forever.
All the people shouted with a great shout …: The shout here was like a cry of victory when a battle is won or a cry of approval when a new king is crowned. There was a sense of victory in being able to begin the repair of the Temple.
Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Ezra. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .