And David and all Israel were making merry before God with all their might: In some languages it will be more natural to say “David and all the other Israelites” rather than David and all Israel since David was also an Israelite. The Hebrew verb rendered were making merry simply means “were enjoying themselves,” “were celebrating,” or “were very happy.” A general expression such as “were reveling” is recommended. Since this celebration almost certainly involved dancing, Good News Translation says “danced” (also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, American Bible, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).

With lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets: Lyres and harps had strings that were plucked, but the lyre was usually smaller than the harp. The lyre had a rectangular sound box with two arms and a yoke connecting the two arms. Lyres had from four to eight strings of about the same length. The harp, which did not have the connecting yoke, had ten to thirteen strings of unequal length. These two terms are translated in Contemporary English Version as “small harps and other stringed instruments.” For a good description of lyres and harps, see WTH, pages 344-347|fig:WTH.stringed instruments.344-347.html

Tambourines were instruments that produced a pleasant sound when the musician beat them in rhythm with the hand. They were made of the membranes of animal skins stretched over a frame that could be in the form of a circle, a triangle, or a rectangle. These instruments are sometimes referred to as “timbrels” (1 Sam 18.6; Psa 81.2), “hand drums,” or “frame drums.” The Hebrew name, tof, suggests the sound it makes. For a fuller discussion on tambourines, see WTH, page 356|fig:WTH.drum.356.html.

Cymbals were a percussion instrument consisting of two metal discs that were struck together in order to make a shrill, clashing sound. They were made of copper or bronze. If the receptor language has a term for two metal objects banged together to make music, this will probably be the best rendering for this term.

Trumpets were instruments that produced music when musicians blew air into them. They were long, straight instruments made from hammered metal, either silver or bronze. They were used in time of war to sound the alarm, but they were also used to produce music in times of celebration. This instrument had a limited range of notes and was more like a modern-day bugle than a trumpet, which has valves to push with the fingers.

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 .