In verses 31-32 the whole universe is called upon to praise God: heavens, earth, sea, and field, together with all the living beings that inhabit the seas and the fields. Four verbs are used synonymously: be glad, rejoice, roar, and exult. In some languages it may be difficult to determine how to address elements of nature such as these and whether to use such verbs as be glad or rejoice with them. But this is a feature of Hebrew poetry and there seems to be no way of avoiding doing so in the receptor language. However, an explanatory footnote may be necessary to explain that in Hebrew natural phenomena are frequently addressed directly as if they were human. In some languages it will be extremely difficult to imitate the form used in Revised Standard Version to address the elements of nature. The use of the direct imperative form in Good News Translation will be considered much more natural.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: Regarding the translation of heavens, see the comments above on verse 26. The two clauses of this line are parallel. Good News Translation reduces them to a single statement, saying “Be glad, earth and sky!” In languages in which inanimate objects do not express human emotions, it may be necessary to use a simile; for example, “Earth and sky be glad as people are glad.” The same is true for the other elements of nature that follow.

And let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”: Most likely the sense here is that the Israelites are to say among the peoples of other nations that the LORD is king. But the Hebrew may also be understood to mean that the people of other nations are to say this. Compare “Let the nations say, ‘The LORD reigns!’ ” ( NET Bible). For nations see the comments on verse 20. The verb reigns may be translated “rules as king” (God’s Word) or simply “is king” (Good News Translation). Almost all versions use a direct quotation in this line, but Good News Translation, New Living Translation, and La Bible du Semeur change it to indirect discourse.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it: In certain languages it may not be a good idea to translate the verb roar by the same word as used for the noise made by a lion or some other animal. Revised English Bible and New American Bible translate “resound,” and New Jerusalem Bible uses the English verb “thunder.” New Century Version has “shout,” and New Living Translation uses the same verb but makes more explicit the purpose of the action by saying “shout his praise.”

Let the field exult, and everything in it!: Exult means essentially the same thing as the verbs be glad and rejoice. If the receptor language has insufficient synonyms, it may be necessary to repeat one of them. For this whole line International Children’s Bible has “Let the fields and everything in them show their joy.”

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 .