Sing to him, sing praises to him: In Hebrew this line has two synonymous second person plural verbs for “sing.” In this context they most likely refer to the music of singers and instruments. The Hebrew verb rendered sing praises often refers to the music of a stringed instrument, but also of a percussion instrument. It often refers to singing accompanied by a musical instrument. La Bible de Jérusalem: Nouvelle édition revue et corrigée and Osty-Trinquet render this line as “Sing to him, play for him” (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond). Parole de Vie brings out the nature of the second verb more clearly, saying “play for him on your instruments.” Good News Translation has expressed the two commands with one verb by saying “Sing praise to the LORD” (similarly Contemporary English Version), but this fails to bring out the likely meaning of the second verb. Other versions take the second verb to mean “sing psalms” (King James Version, Nouvelle version Segond révisée). In some languages it will be important to render the first pronoun in this verse as “the LORD” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)

Tell of all his wonderful works: This line basically repeats what was said in the second line of the previous verse. The people are exhorted to proclaim the great deeds of God in the history of Israel. Tell translates a Hebrew verb whose precise meaning is uncertain. In some contexts it seems to mean “to speak loudly and enthusiastically.” In other contexts it seems to mean “to meditate with thanks and praise.” Some other possible renderings here are “proclaim” (New American Bible) or “sing” (New Jerusalem Bible). Another interpretation of the verb used here is “meditate” (Osty-Trinquet, Braun, Klein). His wonderful works translates a Hebrew participle. The root refers to something that people consider to be extraordinary and wonderful. It may refer to “his miracles” (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), but such a translation here may be too narrowly focused. Other translations include “his marvellous deeds” (Revised English Bible) and “his wondrous deeds” (New American Bible).

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 .