Only, do not rebel against the LORD: Only renders the Hebrew particle ʾak, which highlights how important it is for the Israelites not to rebel. Good News Translation omits it, but it is better to keep it. Perhaps an emphatic particle or emotive interjection would be natural and expected here; for example, Chewa renders it “But please.” The Hebrew verb for rebel (“resist” in De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling) occurs only here in the book of Numbers. It comes at the end of this clause in Hebrew, which is literally “But against the LORD do not rebel.” This word order seems to indicate that this is a strong prohibition. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “only you must not rebel against the LORD,” and Revised English Bible has “But you must not act in defiance of the LORD.”
And do not fear the people of the land: In Hebrew the verb for fear is preceded by an independent second person plural pronoun (ʾattem), which indicates that this is a another strong prohibition. There may be an idiomatic way of expressing this emphasis in the target language, for example, “and, just listen now, don’t be afraid of the people who live there!”
For they are bread for us: The Hebrew particle ki rendered for is an emphatic marker here, so it may be translated “Indeed” or “Surely.” Rashi, the Jewish medieval commentator, explained that this figurative clause means “we will devour them like bread.” The Israelites would be able to destroy the people in Canaan as easily as they could eat bread (so NET Bible footnote). Good News Translation says “We will conquer them easily,” New Living Translation has “They are only helpless prey to us!” (similarly Willibrordvertaling), and Chewa translates “We will swallow them [as food]” (similarly New International Version). Some very idiomatic renderings here are “They are a small bite for us” (Albanian translation in progress) and “We will eat them for breakfast” (similarly Sherwood, page 161).
Their protection is removed from them: Their protection is literally “their shadow/shade,” which is a metaphor for protection in the hot desert region of Canaan. An English equivalent is “their protective cover.” Good News Translation understands this expression to refer to the protection given by the gods of the people in Canaan. This interpretation is possible, but not certain. De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling provides a helpful model for this clause that keeps the source of protection ambiguous, saying “They have nobody who protects them.” A similar model is “They have nothing to protect them.”
And the LORD is with us: The LORD will protect his people. Contemporary English Version says “The LORD is on our side.”
Do not fear them repeats in abbreviated form what was said earlier in this verse. Parole de Vie renders this clause well as a conclusion, saying “So don’t be afraid of them!”
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .