All the house of Israel: that is, “all the people of Israel.” See verse 5 as well as 1.12.

Brought up: while the text at this point does not specify where the Covenant Box was brought, the implied location is clearly the city of Jerusalem. This may be supplied if required by the receptor language. Some translators may need to use a verb for carrying something from a lower to a higher location, since Jerusalem was higher than Obed Edom’s house.

Shouting: since this is a very general term, it may be necessary in some languages to make it clear that these were “shouts of joy” (New American Bible and others as well as Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version makes the idea of joy or happiness cover the whole of the activity by translating “He and everyone else were celebrating by shouting and blowing horns while the chest was being carried along.”

The sound of the horn: the word here translated horn is more often rendered “trumpets” (see, for example, 2.28 and 1 Sam 13.3). The use of the singular form may be misleading, since the word is no doubt meant collectively. So this does not mean that there was only one horn used in the celebration. Rather there were probably many different horns or trumpets used.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .