Tremble before him, all the earth!: Verses 28-29 exhorted the peoples of other nations to worship God. Now in verses 30-33, nature itself is exhorted to praise God. However, Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version seem to take the expression all the earth in the sense of “all the peoples of the earth.” This is certainly the interpretation of Contemporary English Version, which translates “Everyone on earth,” and of Parole de Vie, which has “the inhabitants of the world.” Possibly Good News Translation has this same meaning. If this is the correct interpretation, the earth itself is addressed only after this verse. As in the case of the peoples of the earth (verse 28), it may be more natural to address the earth before exhorting it. In many languages the word tremble refers to a person who is cold and shivering. Therefore it is often best to avoid a term referring to the physical event by saying, for example, “make yourself humble” or “make yourself low.”

Yea, the world stands firm, never to be moved: The Hebrew particle rendered yea has a number of functions, including giving emphasis. This seems to be its function in the present context. It may be rendered “Indeed” (New American Standard Bible) or “Yes” (Parole de Vie, Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), but many modern versions leave it untranslated. The world translates a Hebrew noun that refers to firm, dry land. The reference is clearly to land and not to the people living on this land. The passive expression never to be moved may be rendered actively in those languages where the passive is unnatural or non-existent. A possible model is “nothing can possibly move it” or “it does not risk falling” (Parole de Vie).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .